Thud thud.

As Helix moved urgently, Leah followed and asked.

“Where are we going?”

“To Azura’s lair.”

“Lair? Azura?”

“The place where you found me. It was originally Dragonlord Azura’s lair.”

Helix explained.

Dragonlord Azura’s lair.

A place where only mages and those permitted by Azura could enter.

In Azura’s lair, there was a device maintaining an enormous barrier.

It was a barrier protecting the south from the corrupted substances and monsters beyond the Hel Mountains.

The sealing formation that had imprisoned Helix was the device maintaining that barrier.

“So, you’re saying the structure uses your mana energy to protect the people south of the Hel Mountains?”

“That’s right.”

Helix nodded heavily.

“I thought it wouldn’t matter even if I escaped from the seal, and as you said, after hundreds of years the barrier’s power should have been spent. But if that’s not the case…”

Spotting a silver maple tree in the distance, Helix quickened his pace.

Leah watched his back as he walked ahead, his long silver hair fluttering.

‘The early snow falling isn’t really the problem here, is it?’

The Hel Mountains had long been regarded as sacred mountains protecting the Kingdom of Peiren from the corrupted lands.

But according to what was just said, the Hel Mountains were a barrier protecting the Kingdom of Peiren, and that power came from Helix.

What did I wake up?

As she blinked, Helix who was walking ahead turned back.

“Leah, come quickly.”

“Alright… Ah!”

As Leah hurried and almost fell, Helix ran over and grabbed her hand.

“Be careful.”

Leah took a deep breath.

Helix’s large hand holding hers was warm.

It was the hand of a living person.

‘…Damn those dragons.’

She felt angry instinctively.

She remembered when she first saw Helix trapped in the sealing formation.

She had thought he was really a statue.

To imprison a living person for hundreds of years and use them as a mana extractor, do those reptiles have no conscience?

‘They deserve extinction!’

As Leah, fully charged with anger power, gripped Helix’s hand tightly, he unknowingly gripped back.

“Don’t worry.”

Helix spoke as if making a promise.

“I won’t let you and the people be in danger.”

The moment Helix, holding her hand, touched the silver maple tree, there was a flash before their eyes.

***

“Aaaaah!”

“Ugh!”

Along with a blinding light came people’s screams.

“…!”

Leah blinked her startled eyes and managed to look around.

The artificial cave where Helix had stood like a statue.

Suspicious-looking people were sprawled inside.

“What’s this?”

“I’m not sure. This place should be difficult for ordinary people to enter… Leah, stay behind me.”

“Aaah!”

With another scream, one man spat blood.

It was near the sealing formation where Helix had first stood.

Helix muttered gravely.

“To think the traps activated. Did they touch the sealing formation?”

Even when Leah first woke Helix, arrows had flown from near that sealing formation.

“Then that light from earlier?”

“It must have been one of the traps surrounding the sealing formation. Likely lightning magic.”

Helix scanned the people near the trap and turned his head.

“Only one witness remains.”

“Ugh… uuugh.”

Among the fallen people, only one man who had been hit by an arrow remained, trembling.

Helix approached the man.

“Who are you people? What did you touch?”

“P-please spare me…!”

The arrow-struck man, panic-stricken, spilled everything.

They were grave robbers.

They had been robbing a nearby old temple when they got information about a dragon’s lair being at this location, which seemed promising.

Their expectations of making it big were short-lived.

Some fools, enchanted by the gleaming sealing formation, tried to take it and ended up dead from the bizarre traps.

Light that burned people, blades that cut in half in an instant, raining arrows… the traps were endless.

“Cough!”

The arrow-struck man coughed up black blood.

“A curse, the dragon placed a curse!”

The man who screamed this shuddered and collapsed.

“…Is he dead?”

“He is.”

Leah rubbed her goosebump-covered arms.

“This person, did he die from a curse?”

“It was an ordinary trap. He was hit by a poisoned arrow.”

Helix said curtly.

“To think they tried to steal from a dragon without even being prepared for this much.”

He glared at the sealing formation after speaking coldly.

Of all things, they had to touch that.

“Leah.”

Helix spoke glumly.

“Though brief, it was enjoyable.”

“…Why are you suddenly saying that?”

While Leah blinked wondering what he meant.

Helix headed straight for the sealing formation.

“Wait, wait! Stop!”

***

She instinctively held him back.

“What are you doing? Where are you going?”

Helix remained silent.

Leah clutched his clothes and persistently asked.

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to go back into that sealing formation?”

“…It might be because of me.”

At this unexpected response, Leah asked back.

“Huh?”

“This happened because I wasn’t guarding the sealing formation.”

“What are you talking about? If that’s the case, it would be my fault. I’m the one who woke you up.”

“You did it unknowingly. I… perhaps should have stayed in this position.”

Helix explained.

If the barrier breaks, weather anomalies will occur due to substances from the corrupted land, and monsters will cross over.

“Now that this barrier is breached, this region will gradually be devastated and people will die. I must protect it.”

“So you’re going to stand here like a statue, starving alone? By yourself?”

Helix’s firm expression wavered momentarily at the words ‘by yourself’.

However, he answered resolutely.

“That is what a guardian is for.”

Leah lost her patience.

“Stop right there.”

She grabbed Helix’s wrist firmly.

Helix froze in surprise as his wrist was held by the soft hand. Leah glared at him and spoke.

“What about our contract?”

“…”

She held up the mana stone necklace they had shared when making the contract.

“After sharing even the proof of our contract, you’re going to get sealed again as you please?”

Leah gripped the necklace and deliberately drew up her body’s mana.

Woong…

As the mana stone in the necklace resonated, the artificial cave seemed to vibrate in harmony.

‘Huh?’

She was surprised internally but continued glaring at Helix as if nothing was wrong. Helix, who had been silent with a guilty expression, opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry but there’s no choice. My duty as a guardian…”

Leah cut off his words.

“What’s with this guardian business?”

“A guardian controls mana to maintain the world’s balance.”

“And what’s the point of maintaining this world’s balance?”

“To protect the weak and maintain order.”

“Why do you have to do it alone?”

Helix was momentarily speechless.

Leah looked straight at him and asked again.

“Can you really stop everything by yourself?”

Overwhelmed by her piercing blue eyes, Helix held his breath as he looked down at Leah.

“…It is my duty.”

“That’s not duty, that’s exploitation.”

Leah said cynically.

“I can see right through it. Whenever they wanted you to sacrifice yourself, that’s what they said, right? If the Guardian sacrifices himself, he’ll save many people. If the Guardian puts in the effort with strong will, everything will work out, just try a little harder. And so on and so forth.”

“…How do you know about that, Leah?”

“There are ways to know. Anyway, Mr. Contractor.”

Leah looked up at Helix challengingly.

“What if there’s another way?”

“If there’s another way.”

He repeated heavily, then met her eyes.

Blue eyes shining with conviction.

“Will you do as I say?”

They were strong eyes that infected even those who looked at them.

“…Then I’ll follow your words.”

“You promise?”

Helix nodded.

Leah turned around to look around the cave while firmly gripping the mana stone necklace at her neck.

Woong…

One thing learned from past life experience was that there’s never only one solution in the world.

Leah said.

“There must be another way besides sacrificing you alone, Helix.”

Woong woong…

As if responding to those words, resonance began spreading through the cave.

Her eyes gleamed.

“…I think that pillar might be the solution.”

Leah suggested putting cut pieces of the cave’s pillars into the sealing formation.

“…You mean these pillars?”

“Yeah. These pillars are mana stones, right?”

Helix looked back and forth between Leah and the pillars in surprise.

“How did you know?”

“They respond to my mana just like the mana stone we shared.”

It was a similar response to the mana Helix had given.

“…You’re right. Mana stones are substances of condensed mana.”

“That’s perfect.”

Leah said.

“Your role in this barrier is mana supply, right Helix? Then couldn’t we supply mana without you?”

It was a conclusion based on memories from her past life.

“Does it have to be an ultra-custom battery? If it works with regular batteries, that’s good enough.”

Leah continued while looking around at the mana stone pillars.

“Conveniently, there are lots of things around that could work as batteries.”

“An unexpected idea. Using mana stones for the barrier…”

“There’s no harm in trying.”

“True. But Leah.”

Helix asked seriously.

“What’s a battery?”

“…”

“And regular batteries?”

Leah internally broke into a sweat as she racked her brain.

“It’s… something that stores energy like mana.”

“Hmm. I’ve never heard those terms before.”

Sometimes past life terms slip out when she’s only supposed to think them.

“I-I just heard about it somewhere.”

“Is that so.”

Fortunately, Helix seemed to accept it.

After contemplating for a while, he nodded.

“…It’s worth trying.”

***

Crack! Crunch!

Leah anxiously watched as Helix cut down thick mana stone pillars and carried them toward the sealing formation.

‘Will this really work?’

She had been confident when suggesting it. She thought it was worth trying, that it was better than doing nothing.

But now that she actually saw him approaching the sealing formation, her chest tightened with anxiety.