Taming the Evil Saintess

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The child grows in the blink of an eye.

Ophelia was acutely aware of this proverb reflecting the current situation.

“Blackie? You… have grown a lot since the last time I saw you…?”

Ophelia blinked several times as she surveyed Blackie. The last time she had seen him at the Ice Palace, he was barely the size of a large dog or a wolf.

But now? He was bigger than a relay wagon. With his wings spread, he could cover half the roof of the Main Cathedral.

In less than two months, Blackie had transformed from a hatchling into a proper juvenile dragon.

“Uh, um… Nice to see you? You seem to have… yeah, been doing well. You’ve grown so much…”

Ophelia gingerly spoke, and Blackie replied by gently brushing her back with his wings.

That movement belonged to the young Blackie she knew. He didn’t seem so thick-headed that he couldn’t recognize at least one caretaker.

“…Can’t… talk either.”

Of course, Ophelia wasn’t the only one flummoxed.

High Priest Ian was left speechless by the appearance of the Black Dragon, and he was equally astounded by how friendly the dragon was toward Ophelia.

Why was the strongest dragon, known for being untamable as a unique species, behaving so affectionately towards a saintess?

And why was a legendary dragon that didn’t even appear in the game standing right in front of him?

These questions raced through Ian’s mind, but he arrived at a singular conclusion.

‘This is dangerous.’

It couldn’t be anything but dangerous.

Even a juvenile Red Dragon could be likened to a formidable field boss.

Let alone a Black Dragon, which would undoubtedly hold a boss position in a dungeon, if not a higher rank among the Demon King’s Army.

In short, it meant that Ian was not an opponent he could handle.

Cold sweat trickled down Ian’s back.

After a rational assessment of the situation, Ian took a step back.

Creak. Unfortunately, he stepped on a broken shard of glass.

“Oh, you were there,”

Ophelia Meredein finally noticed Ian’s presence and turned her head.

With her expression completely reversed from shock to confidence given the sudden turn of events, she said,

“Why? Curious?”

Ophelia mischievously twisted her lips as she stroked the bridge of the Black Dragon’s nose.

The dragon seemed to enjoy her touch, lowering its head for a while.

“Aha, this is what a dragon is.”

Ophelia grinned.

“Super strong.”

Ian simply couldn’t believe that the girl who was with that pitch-black dragon was a saintess.

*

In “Sword & Magic Chronicle,” dragons are classified as fantasy creatures.

These creatures possess a unique trait called Phantasma, granting them significant resistance against most magic and dark magic that use the same illusion.

Swish!

“Ugh!”

As soon as the Black Chain came into contact with the Black Dragon’s skin, it disappeared in an instant.

Neither arrows, elemental magic, nor even decay curses held any effect against the dragon. No magical means could even scratch that dragon’s scales, not even with a mark.

For Ian, a proper caster, it was an insurmountable obstacle.

In a game, he could just restart from a save point, but this was no game.

“Ha, ha, ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Hadn’t he realized this in the past nine years?

By killing the same possessors.

“Seems like I have bad luck…”

Trying to keep calm, Ian took a stance.

One piece of good fortune was that the Black Dragon was not yet an adult.

It appeared he couldn’t use Dragon Fear, and it was obvious he couldn’t wield the time-space distortions that defined the Black Dragon’s identity. Even its breath attack could easily be blocked by Ian’s protective spells. Of course, if hit directly by claws and fangs, he could not guarantee his survival, but at least he could try to dodge.

If he could get past that massive shield and target the saintess…

“Damn it.”

That seemed unreal.

He would be throwing himself into a suicidal charge.

“Ah.”

While Ian was lost in thought, Ophelia Meredein spoke up.

With casualness, she raised her fist and gave the Black Dragon’s belly a gentle poke.

“Blackie, you shouldn’t kill him unless you absolutely have to.”

[Squawk?]

“No, Elliot said that we’re supposed to catch all the possessors first. Um… If he’s too resistant, maybe we could just chop off some limbs. I can fix that afterward. But we mustn’t cut off his airflow, okay?”

[Screech?]

“What do you mean screech? Are you a kid? Or a seagull? Try making a proper cry, come on.”

“….”

“Why? Weren’t you going to charge at me?”

When Ophelia and Ian’s eyes met, she grinned and raised her arm.

The shield strapped to her wrist.

The moment Ian saw that, he realized that he had no chance from the beginning.

“…No way out, huh.”

Possessor Elliot had been raising Saint Ophelia as a close-combat build.

He knew that for a fact.

Even if he managed to break through the Black Dragon to engage the saintess in close combat, as a dark mage, Ian’s chances of taking her down were approaching zero.

Caught in a situation with no escape.

But he wasn’t going to let himself be captured without a fight.

Ian slowly raised his hand.

“What are you doing? Going to pray to a god now?”

“Not a god, but… there’s a being akin to one.”

Ian grimaced as he activated his mark.

It was a technique he never wanted to use. Most possessors chose death rather than resort to it.

But right now, there was no choice.

There was a saying about how it’s better to roll in shit than to lose your life.

“Blackie! Stop!”

Ophelia yelled in a hurry, and the Black Dragon charged at terrifying speed, yet the activation of the mark was faster.

…….

Without a sound, Ian’s mark, along with his upper body, was swallowed by a pitch-black orb and vanished.

Crash!

Blackie’s foot merely swung through the air and shattered the wall.

Ophelia frowned and glared at the spot where Ian had disappeared.

“…This is.”

“It’s like spatial migration.”

As she turned her head to the suddenly audible voice, there stood Elliot, holding the scruff of a naked man.

Before expressing her delight at seeing him, Ophelia tilted her head.

“Spatial migration…?”

“It’s using the mark to request rescue from the Demon King. An effective escape method, but… the risks are very high.”

“Risks?”

“Look at that.”

Elliot pointed with the Branch of the World Tree to the ground where Ian had stood.

There lay…

“Ugh…”

A neatly severed lower half of a person.

An arm without a mark as well.

“Well, I guess living as a lifelong cripple is better than dying, huh.”

With a sigh, Elliot tossed the naked man, Iosif, to the ground.

As if he just touched something filthy, Elliot turned his hand several times and then looked at Ophelia.

“So.”

“Yeah.”

“What in the world is this mess, or rather, this dragon mess?”

An obvious question was asked.

*

The situation was quickly put under control.

It had to be controlled.

It was an unprecedented incident for a Black Dragon to appear in the midst of the Ice Palace.

Naturally, the Knight Order was dispatched, led by Cecilia, the commander of the Imperial Guards, and Albrecht and Azar, who had been on standby nearby, rushed over in case of further complications.

And thankfully, in the midst of all this chaos, Blackie had continued to follow Ophelia and obey her words diligently.

“Knight Elliot.”

“Um…”

The damaged Main Cathedral.

The severed lower body.

The naked, rotund man with a mustache.

Finally, the sudden appearance of the Black Dragon.

“Just what kind of madness occurs for it to come to this?”

“It’s not my fault.”

“Right. I’m not looking to blame anyone. So please explain the situation.”

Upon Cecilia’s inquiry, Ian shrugged his shoulders.

“The Purification Church has ended, now.”

The flicker of excitement that crossed Cecilia’s face as she heard that wasn’t just a figment of Ian’s imagination.

He explained the entire story through Ophelia.

How the head of the Church and High Priest Ian were possessors. Among them, the head was a mere puppet, and Ian was a possessor affiliated with the Demon King’s Army.

Cecilia, initially bewildered by incredulity, soon regained her composure and dedicated herself to managing the situation. She began clearing the debris of the cathedral and escorting the injured.

However, one thing was entirely out of control…

“Knight Elliot.”

“Yes.”

“What do we do about that thing?”

It was none other than Black Dragon Blackie, who had already grown to the size of a house.

There was no way to hide it, and if they didn’t, the rumor that the Ice Palace had been devastated by a dragon attack would undoubtedly make waves across the continent for some time.

In that brief time, Blackie had grown too large to be confined in a room and raised.

Of course, he would continue to grow even bigger.

“Ophelia, just releasing him is…”

“No! Blackie is my baby!”

“…Baby? What are you talking about?”

“I gave birth to him with my heart!”

Why was her voice so high-pitched?

Why was her face so flushed?

There were many questions he wanted to ask, but…

“Alright. Let’s go with that. Blackie’s mom.”

“Ugh, uh-huh.”

For now, it was crucial to move Blackie somewhere else.

Ian turned his head towards Cecilia.

“Ahem.”

She seemed to be listening with peculiar interest as if watching an engaging play.

With a sigh, he proposed an alternative.

“Cecilia, what do you think about letting him loose in the garden of the Ice Palace for now?”

“…Hmm, that seems to be the only option.”

The garden of the Ice Palace wasn’t extensive, but it would be spacious enough for Blackie’s stay.

At least, it would serve as a temporary shelter while they lived in the Ice Palace.

Yet, there was one thing they had overlooked.

The activity level of a growing dragon.

The calamity was about to begin.