The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 166
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
this book is completely translated on luna kofi (advanced chapters for the website will follow)
Perhaps if Igmeyer had been born and raised as a noble, he might have thought similarly.
But he grew up as the son of a monster butcher, witnessing the very bottom of society and learning that life exists even there.
For him, the logic that insignificant lives must be sacrificed for a greater cause was utterly incomprehensible—especially when those lives belonged to his wife and child.
‘I miss Amber.’
With that thought in mind, he struck down with his sword, finally severing Nidhogg’s tail.
It was the third success after slicing off one of its hind legs and one of its front paws.
—Kraaaah!
Nidhogg roared in fury, but now it had no tail to swing around.
With its tail cut off, it could barely maintain its balance.
‘An opportunity.’
Judging coldly, Igmeyer tightened his grip on the sword and raised it high.
In an instant, his form multiplied into several, and soon after they vanished, leaving Nidhogg confused about which one was real.
And in the next moment…
Thwuck!
With Nidhogg without its annoying tail, Igmeyer drove his sword into one of its eyes and quickly withdrew before it could thrash around.
—Aaaah! Kraaaah!
In the already darkened sky, a whirlwind formed. Nidhogg was about to open another gate to unleash more monsters.
But that was exactly what Igmeyer had been waiting for.
‘If the number of monsters coming down is sufficient, it will be fine for the next ten years.’
The bones, skins, hearts, and horns of the monsters were unique products only found in the North. They were durable and strong, making them highly sought after for various uses.
Until now, they had sold them without limiting the quantity, but that would change moving forward.
‘Now that there are no more monsters… the byproducts from the butchering will be used only within the North. Anything left over will be sold at a high price.’
Bones from monsters would also help in constructing important buildings. Ground bones mixed into the mud would make the structure sturdy enough to withstand earthquakes.
‘Amber wanted to build a school, didn’t she?’
There needed to be enough materials for that.
No matter what thoughts crossed his mind, they always led back to Amber, which amused Igmeyer, making him smile faintly.
“Before you die, why not tell me where you’re bringing the monsters from? Aren’t you fond of the development of the North?”
—Kraaaah!
“What, has your sanity completely slipped away?”
It couldn’t be helped.
The witch had become a tree, and the evil dragon was protecting that tree.
From this, one could infer that the ‘tree’ would likely serve as a medium to summon monsters.
‘If I cut off the head of the evil dragon, I must also strike down the tree immediately.’
It would be the complete end.
His palms were bruised, and his feet burned. The wounds on his shoulders and back, battered by Nidhogg multiple times, had burst open and festered.
Heat surged in his head, and his vision blurred with sweat and blood.
He could taste the iron tang of blood on his breath, and an overwhelming fatigue pressed down on him, urging him to collapse to his knees.
Yet Igmeyer moved.
He thought of nothing, merely forcing his arms… his legs into action.
Until he could grasp Nidhogg’s throat.
“……”
Was dawn breaking in the distance? Or was the sun setting?
In a moment of uncertainty, he felt the red rays of the sun creeping up the mountain ridge and illuminated the world.
The darkness that Nidhogg had created was finally lifting.
He had no sense of how much time had passed or if the seasons had changed, but Igmeyer knelt on one knee with his head bowed.
Before him was a broken sword, embedded in the ground.
At first glance, it was hard to tell if this was a victory… or a defeat.
Just a single step sideways from his colossal back revealed the truth.
The severed head.
The head of the evil dragon.
“Igmeyer.”
The first to realize the evil dragon’s death was Amber.
Praying to a god who may or may not exist, she had been receiving reports on the situation and gazing toward where Igmeyer was. That morning, feeling a strange turmoil in her heart, she woke up before anyone else.
“Igmeyer.”
Without waking the still-sleeping maids, Amber staggered toward the castle wall and suddenly noticed that the ‘sky’ was visible.
Not only she but also the soldiers guarding the wall and Raphael realized it too.
Something was changing. Something was different.
“Dear. Please answer me. Okay?”
Beyond the dissipating mist, a massive figure loomed.
The thing that lay buried in the ground was likely Nidhogg.
It must be Nidhogg.
Raphael urged her to stay back, claiming it was dangerous, but Amber felt she knew.
That the dragon had breathed its last.
Then what mattered was… Igmeyer.
Was he still alive?
Unable to bear it any longer, Amber stepped into the battlefield.
The sunken earth, uprooted trees, and half-burned buildings all bore witness to the terrifying events that had transpired here.
And… there, unable to rise or lay down comfortably,
A man, only resting one knee on the ground.
Her husband.
The father of her child.
“My love… please open your eyes. Please.”
