Sir Vance Hunts threw a chain net at the mud-colored dragon first. The mud-colored dragon tilted its body and barely dodged, breathing fire at Vance. In that gap, Jeremiah Dezia threw a chain net from above the mud-colored dragon.

The chain net Jeremiah threw fell over the mud-colored dragon’s wings, entangling both wings together. Unable to fly anymore with tangled wings, the mud-colored dragon spun round and round, falling to the ground.

Sue kept shooting red fur balls. One of them hit Gerard’s belly and exploded. Gerard screamed and flapped his wings.

Berche and Lillian stood before Clementina and Dion, while Ray Luium, William Grant, and Vance Hunts simultaneously raised bows and shot at Sue.

This wasn’t war. It was no different from an execution.

Jerbek watched the entire scene from beside Sue, loaded on the wooden cart.

With arrows stuck in her back, Sue used all her strength to open the gray fence and shot up more fur balls.

From inside the opened gray fence, dozens of turkey-like dragons ran out. Then they began flying toward the red fur balls Sue had shot up.

Kyuut, kyuut, kyuut, kyuut.

Dozens of small dragons screamed toward the Gold Dragon Order. From the small dragons’ mouths poured not flames but needle-like poison darts.

This was Sue’s final desperate struggle.

Most poison darts bounced off the dragons’ scales, but a few penetrated gaps.

That works? she thought, but only dragons could pierce dragon scales. Sue had used all her abilities experimenting on dragons.

For one thing only—to have Jerbek.

The six Gold Dragon Order dragons began burning dozens of small dragons. The Gold Dragon dragons also flapped their wings to shake off poison darts.

Unable to hold back, Dion approached them and swung his sword. Like a seasoned dragon, Kitan flew among the small dragons while dodging poison darts. Without a moment’s hesitation, Dion split dragon bodies in half with single strikes.

Other dragon riders were just as urgent. They had to deal with this before poison spread through the bodies of dragons hit by poison darts.

Struggling against just one woman, these dragon riders.

Clementina also raised her bow atop Tahan’s back. Dion hoped she wouldn’t approach if possible, fearing the dragons’ attention might turn to Clementina. Naturally she’d agreed.

But she hadn’t thought the dragon riders would become this endangered.

Sue staggered laboriously toward Jerbek with three arrows stuck in her back. The black dragon’s eyes beside her were gradually clearing.

Sue slashed under the black dragon’s chin—its most vulnerable part—with the knife she’d sharpened for days. The black dragon groaned and writhed. The smoke rising near the black dragon faded.

Sue hastily gulped down the blood flowing from the black dragon’s chin greedily. According to the original plan, she’d intended to devour all the black dragon’s blood and meat, but she had no time. Sue drank her old friend dragon’s blood like a madwoman.

Only resonated dragon riders and dragons could do this.

Clementina realized what Sue was trying to do was one of the things in the dragon magic book her mother had left.

But Sue shouldn’t know dragon magic. Had Mother ever told Sue? Even if so, Sue hadn’t even pretended to cast magic.

For that to work, dragon magic was needed. Clementina recalled the dragon magic spell she’d just read. Perhaps if she cast dragon magic on Sue now, she might live. Though difficult for Clementina now, Dion could do it.

But would that really be for Sue’s sake? What about Sue’s dragon?

Jerbek, lying on the wooden cart beside her, rolled his eyes wide and began screaming.

“You’re insane! You’re crazy! What are you doing? Take me and run right now! Hey, Sue! Oh, oh! Dion! Save me. Save me. I’ll do whatever you say, please save me! Your, Your Majesty! Your Majesty the Emperor, please save me! I was dragged here by this woman. I have nothing to do with this!”

Jerbek’s pathetic struggle was mostly curses at Sue, with the rest cries begging Dion to save him. Until the end, he showed no consideration for the woman who loved him and tried to save him. To the very end, only he himself was most important.

Sue gulped down the black dragon’s blood, then cupped her hands to catch blood and walked toward Jerbek. Then she shoved dragon blood into Jerbek’s mouth as he shook his head left and right.

“No, no! Urgh! Ugh!”

But Sue showed no mercy and blocked Jerbek’s mouth.

“You have to drink! If you want to live even a little, drink! Don’t leave me alone. I don’t want to be lonely again. Live! Live, I say! Live with me!”

Sue’s wailing overflowed with desperation along with red blood.

〔Tina.〕

“Hm? Tahan, did you call me?”

Even amid the chaos, Tahan stared only at Sue.

〔Save Sue.〕

“What?”

〔I’m not asking you to let her live. If she drinks dragon blood, that child will go mad.〕

“That would only work with dragon magic cast on it, right? So if someone just drinks dragon blood, they go insane?”

〔Right. So just let her pass away quietly. Caroline thought of that child like you. This is her end. Please show mercy.〕

“Tahan. Don’t you know that makes me angrier?”

Clementina smiled bitterly and patted Tahan’s nape. Though she spoke that way, with her mother dead and Sue collapsing, she didn’t feel like resenting anyone.

〔Is that so? Humans are truly difficult. However, Carry worried about that child until the end. Honestly, more than she worried about you. Isn’t this the proof? You grew up well. But that child didn’t. You gained love, but that child only has despair.〕

“So you want me to show mercy?”

〔Hate her all you want. I’m not telling you to forgive that child. I just can’t bear to watch her die in agony.〕

“Fine. But you owe me one!”

〔Hehehe. Alright, I’ll grant you anything I can do.〕

Clementina rode Tahan and flew toward Sue.

Blood flowed from Sue’s back where arrows stuck, and dragon blood covered her mouth. Tahan landed a short distance from Sue. Then he lowered his body so Clementina could easily dismount.

Clementina removed the bow from her shoulder, nocked an arrow, and gripped the bowstring. For Sue to die peacefully, killing her in one shot would be best.

But her hand pulling the bowstring wouldn’t tense. Fear suddenly rose in Clementina. She’d never once drawn a bow toward a person.

Always surrounded by Dion and dragon riders, Clementina had never needed to kill anyone.

Much less Sue—Clementina couldn’t stop her body from shrinking back. With trembling arms, she slowly raised the bow toward Sue.

She closed one eye, narrowed the other, and aimed near her heart.

“Kuaaak!“

The tree binding Sue’s black dragon cracked and broke. The black dragon raised its massive body and flashed its eyes. The black dragon’s target was precise. Though bleeding with a knife stuck in its neck, it shielded Sue and breathed fire toward Clementina.

Then Dion, who’d been flying among small dragons cutting down dozens, spotted the scene.

“Clementina!”

Kitan flew toward Clementina at once, but the distance was too great to reach easily. Growing desperate, Dion threw himself from midair. Jumping from heights meant nothing to Dion, but burning in dragon fire was another matter.

The black dragon tried to protect its master even while sacrificing its own body.

Dion also threw himself for Clementina. Though knowing full well what would happen if dragon fire touched him, he blocked Clementina’s front.

“No, Dion!”

Ripples rose in Clementina’s golden eyes. She threw down her bow and also threw herself toward Dion. Though she could do nothing, her body moved first instinctively. She couldn’t let Dion go alone.

Inside the blazing flames, Dion’s blue eyes appeared. He smiled with eyes neither laughing nor crying. The moment felt like eternity. She didn’t want to remember Dion’s last moment like this.

Clementina was at a distance where she couldn’t reach Dion, but still she stretched her hand toward him.

Then it happened. A golden thread seeped from her fingertips. The golden thread rose as smoke and instantly created a massive golden barrier.

Time seemed to stop.

The golden barrier seeping from Clementina’s fingertips instantly swelled large and enveloped Dion. The dragon flames about to engulf Dion were blocked by the golden barrier and spread outward in blazing flowers.

Dion quickly ran over and embraced Clementina. A vow never to let go again transmitted through his entire body.

The black dragon breathed fire once more toward them, but couldn’t pierce the golden barrier surrounding them.

Then dragon rider William Grant descended and thr*st his sword under the black dragon’s chin where Sue had wounded it.

“Kuwak!“

The black dragon’s harsh scream spread, and with a thud, the black dragon collapsed to the ground.

Below where William Grant had stabbed, Sue’s knife remained embedded. Blood gushed from the black dragon’s neck.

Sue sat collapsed beside the wooden cart where Jerbek lay. Her glaring eyes had no focus.

“Cough, cough.”

Jerbek, lying on the wooden cart, coughed up blood. Whether the dragon blood just drunk or Jerbek’s own blood was unclear, but he violently vomited blood with harsh coughs. Jerbek’s pupils began rolling back.

Sue struggled to rise and grabbed Jerbek’s chest.

“No, don’t go! Don’t go! Don’t leave me alone!”

Sue’s scream as she lost consciousness echoed across Diahart Island. When Dion nodded, William Grant raised his sword high. Sue’s sharp final breath scattered into the air. No more pain was permitted to her.

Those hit by poison darts from the small dragons Sue created were dragon riders Berche Ritzberry and Vance Hunts. Ray Luium’s dragon, Nolan, was hit by poison darts, and Jeremiah’s dragon Gerard was burned by red fur ball attacks.

Sue had weapons that could harm dragons. The dragon scales said to be like steel weren’t completely invulnerable after all.

Berche and Vance’s expressions twisted, looking serious. The poison darts seeped under their skin and began turning dark red.

Was there a way to treat dragon poison darts?

If treatment was delayed, the two dragon riders might lose their lives. Moreover, the dragons also needed urgent treatment.