He couldn’t be certain of success even with an immature hatchling.

Above all, he worried about Leah.

‘If all dragons are killed… the world’s mana won’t increase either, making it difficult for Leah to advance to Grand Mage.’

It would be even harder for Leah with her double core.

‘…If I can’t extract mana from dragons and kill them all, Leah might lose both the path to becoming a Grand Mage and the chance to obtain different mana.’

Then she would remain subordinate to Crown Prince Archaik with no alternatives.

‘I can’t ask Leah to take such a risk.’

But the dragons had to die.

As his conflict deepened, Helix found himself spending more and more sleepless nights.

Then one day, as they advanced into the middle of the desert.

Karai, who had been tidying up the campsite in the morning, came running in a panic.

“My lady, Helix has disappeared!”

***

Helix had vanished without a trace.

“That’s impossible. He’s not the kind of person who would leave me behind.”

Leah responded with a forced smile, but the corners of her lips trembled. She couldn’t believe her own words.

Her intuition told her.

Before being your contractor, Helix is a Guardian.

He’s someone who has suffered from dragons’ betrayal for hundreds of years.

Have you forgotten how quiet he’s been while crossing this desert?

‘…Still!’

Leah fell into panic.

‘He can’t just leave like this without telling me. It’s impossible!’

The air responded to her emotions. The mana around Leah wavered and turned into flames that scattered wildly in the wind.

“Ahhh! My lady!”

“Lady Piert, please come to your senses! The camels are all running away!”

Karai and Janet squawked beside her, but Leah couldn’t hear anything right now.

‘He hasn’t gone for good, has he?’

Just thinking about it made her chest tighten.

Thump. Thump.

Like the sound of Helix’s heart that would resonate like a drum when she leaned against him, her own heart beat frantically. Flames danced around, flying in all directions like dandelion seeds.

“Oh come on! Lady Piert! Please!”

Janet now grabbed Leah’s shoulders and started shaking her vigorously.

“Miss, please come to your senses! Don’t you trust Helix? He’ll be back soon!”

Leah blinked.

“Y-you think so?”

“Of course!”

Janet hastily continued speaking.

“He’ll be back soon because he’ll be worried about you and miss you. He’s not the type to leave without saying anything. He must have a reason!”

“That’s right, my lady!”

Karai, who had been beating out flames on the tent, quickly added his support.

“I don’t want to take Helix’s side in front of you, my lady, but he’s not the kind of person who would leave without a word. Honestly, if he wanted to leave you, he could have done it in the north or in the capital, right? Why come all the way to this remote place to leave? He must have a reason!”

“That’s right. Please calm down!”

At Janet’s words, Leah thought of Helix.

‘Calm down, Leah.’

Remembering Helix’s voice trying to soothe her, her throat tightened.

‘Right, calm down. Helix will be back soon.’

As Leah struggled to compose herself, she looked around.

Thud thud thud…

In the distance, dust clouds rose from a sand dune.

‘Huh? What’s that?’

Leah sent a gentle breeze. As the dust cloud cleared, she could see the approaching figures.

Dozens of masked men riding camels.

“B-bandits?”

A pale Karai threw aside the tent and stood in front of Leah. Leah quickly pulled Janet’s arm.

“Karai, prepare a magic barrier!”

“Yes!”

Leah looked ahead tensely. This was her first time facing people charging directly at her like this.

‘I might be able to scare them off, so I’ll start with a light fireball…’

As Leah twitched her hands and glared at them, the masked figures drew closer.

Their apparent leader stepped forward and jumped down from his camel.

‘What is he doing?’

The leader fell to his knees before Leah with a thud.

He shouted:

“You have finally arrived, Holy Maiden!”

Leah froze with the flame still hovering over her right hand.

What?

***

At that same time, Helix discovered dragon eggs in a cave.

“…”

After suffering all night from various conflicts and old memories, he had gone out for a dawn walk alone. In the middle of the barren sandy desert, he sensed mana.

That intense yet cautious mana was something he knew well.

A young dragon’s mana.

Helix followed the flow of mana.

Under a sand dune, in a hidden desert cave, to ancient ruins that had escaped the passage of time.

Until he reached dozens of defenseless dragon eggs.

Step.

He set foot in the ruins. He raised his hand toward the eggs.

“Azura, was this what you chose to protect these eggs…!”

Look at the outcome of your selfish choice.

Helix gritted his teeth and channeled mana to his fingertips. Mana shot from his long fingers like bullets.

Crash!

The mana bullet hit the ceiling, causing a corner of the rafter to fall.

Bang!

The mana bullet hit a pillar, shattering a decorative base.

Bang!

When it hit the floor, stone dust rose and clouded his vision. When the dust settled, the eggs were covered in a pale gray film.

Helix lowered his hand as he glared at the eggs.

“…It’s unfair.”

In front of his longtime enemies, the man who had nursed his revenge for hundreds of years crumbled.

He couldn’t do it.

No matter how much he wanted revenge on dragons, he couldn’t just smash these innocent eggs.

“Isn’t it too unjust to blame you for the sins of ancestors you don’t even know…?”

But then. If so.

The wrongs of dragons who sinned against the world, the years the Guardian suffered…

“Who will take responsibility?”

After spitting out a question no one could answer, the upright man collapsed. Lying among the eggs like a corpse, he murmured painfully.

“…Leah.”

***

“So, have you ever seen a Holy Maiden who uses flame magic? No, right? I’m telling you, you’ve mistaken me for someone else!”

“As Azura’s Holy Maiden, of course you can use flame magic!”

What? Holy Maiden of what?

‘Azura?’

That name sounds familiar.

Leah’s expression unconsciously turned grim.

‘Why is Azura being mentioned here?’

She quickly looked around.

The scene resembled a desert village she had seen on TV in her past life. The small drawings on every window and wall, seemingly protecting something, were peculiar though.

Leah narrowed her eyes.

‘If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, those look like dragons.’

Noticing her discomfort, the village chief straightened his posture.

“Holy Maiden, I understand your confusion. But we have been waiting for you for a long time, according to the prophecy.”

“Sigh.”

Leah sighed and said:

“Please explain what this Holy Maiden business is all about.”

The chief nodded.

“I have something to show you, Holy Maiden. Please come this way.”

***

The place the chief guided her to was a ruin on a hill behind the village.

‘Somehow this looks similar to Dragonlord Azura’s lair?’

While Leah looked around, the chief explained:

“This is the temple of Azura, whom we serve.”

Unlike the surrounding village buildings, the temple interior was finished with dressed stone, and a large statue stood in the center.

The chief knelt before it.

“Lord Azura. The Holy Maiden has finally arrived.”

Leah looked up at the statue.

‘I’ve seen that face somewhere.’

It wasn’t a face she had seen often, but she had definitely seen it before.

‘Isn’t that the herb gatherer from Helkan who lied to me about a dragon spring by the silver maple tree? That herb gatherer was Dragonlord Azura, right?’

Her eyes widened.

‘So this is really a temple that worships Dragonlord Azura?’

Leah felt dumbfounded to have come to a place that worshipped Helix’s sworn enemy as a god. As she turned to leave, the chief grabbed her.

“Holy Maiden, please listen to our story. We call you Azura’s Holy Maiden, but in the prophecy, you were called something different.”

“What was I called?”

“The Dragon’s Holy Maiden.”

“…”

That sounded familiar somehow. Leah crossed her arms uncomfortably.

“It was said you would guide arrogant dragons onto the right path after dragons survived the path of destruction. That you would return mana to the world.”

“Wait. The Holy Maiden guides dragons to the right path?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s definitely not me.”

I’m a bad person planning to steal a young dragon’s mana?

But the chief remained confident.

“You are indeed the Holy Maiden. You are the one who will return mana to the world and restore our oasis.”

He explained that this place was originally fertile, but as mana dried up, it turned into this desert.

The Azura they worshipped had prophesied.

On the day mana returns to the world, the oasis will fill again.

“Lord Azura said that for mana to return, we must empower the Holy Maiden.”

He pressed a large, round jewel at the base of the statue. The floor in front of the statue opened, revealing an ancient box.

“Please accept this, Holy Maiden. It will be of great help to you.”

***

‘They called me a Holy Maiden, but…’

What Leah received was, no matter how she looked at it, a magic staff.

‘They called me the Dragon’s Holy Maiden… but this seems more like Magic’s Holy Maiden? If I’m a Holy Maiden, why give me a magic staff?’

She couldn’t make any sense of it.

‘I guess I’ll try using it.’

Using it might give her some insight. Having made her decision, Leah walked to the outskirts of the village.

The sun had already set, and the sudden drop in desert temperature raised cold sandy winds.

‘The temperature difference between day and night is extreme.’

Leah, who had been hunching her shoulders, straightened her back as she raised the staff.

She thought it was just as well.

In a strange place, suddenly hearing bizarre stories and immersing herself in magic. Being so preoccupied might help her forget that Helix was gone.

‘Leah, focus.’

Feeling almost as though she heard his voice nearby, Leah shook her head vigorously.

“I am focusing!”