Somewhere in the city of Endawn, a woman in her twenties with long tied-back brown hair sat casually on a sofa. Her face held a haughty air, her eyes indifferent.
A man with a relaxed expression entered the room and sat in the chair across from her. He appeared to be about the same age as her.
"So, how was it?" the woman asked him.
"Well, at least after Major Zevanor was eliminated, things are mostly back to normal. But there are still other troublemakers." The man replied casually.
"So, where do we go next?" The woman asked again.
"They told us to go to the Stairl district." The man replied lazily.
"Huh... even though it's easy to catch the few remaining ones there, there's still no entertainment there."
"Okay, just catch them quickly and we'll get back here."
The woman immediately stood up. The man followed her and headed towards the Stairl district.
...
"I've met a dragon," Zain said.
Rian's eyes widened at Zain's words.
"What dragon?" Evan responded curiously.
"A dragon with black scales and golden eyes. Its body was as big as that hill." Zain spoke casually, pointing to one of the distant hills.
"A dragon all of a sudden?" Rian couldn't help but be shocked.
"What's wrong with that dragon?" Evan asked.
"The dragon once said, 'Submit to me, and I will grant your wish'."
"Then what did you ask for?"
"I didn't say anything, and after a moment of silence, I left."
"If you didn't ask for anything, why did you go there?"
"Because I was curious. I'd heard some villagers share a rumor."
"That dragon can grant you immortality."
"...."
Evan and Rian were so shocked that they were at a loss for words.
"What kind of story is that? Where did he get it from? Even in ancient times, long before this era of destruction, stories about dragons weren't like that. Dragons were just monster-like creatures that destroyed everything. Even then, there's no evidence of that to this day." Many thoughts crossed Rian's mind. He wanted to say it so badly, but he held it back.
"Eternal life?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"You want to know?" Zain asked.
"Yes," Evan replied.
Although Rian remained silent, he nodded vigorously in his mind.
"Please tell us what happened immediately, don't ask each other anymore!" Rian shouted in his mind.
"Hmm..." Zain paused for a moment.
"They brought living creatures as offerings to the dragon."
"At first, they brought their livestock twice a week. Then, because livestock were so valuable to their survival and felt that two animals were too much to offer in a week, they begged to switch to wild animals as prey. The dragon agreed."
"Then, after a while, the dragon grew bored with the same food. Suddenly, he roared and became furious at the villagers. His roar was so powerful that it could even topple a large tree. He demanded a human sacrifice in exchange for the game, or he would destroy the village and devour everyone there."
"So blatant... and then?" Evan commented.
"The villagers were in a panic. They glanced at each other, assessing which one to sacrifice and wary of each other to avoid becoming an offering themselves.
"Wait, how many humans did he ask for?" Evan asked.
"One human every two weeks."
"Why is the timeframe getting longer?" Rian, who had been keeping his mouth shut, unconsciously spoke.
Evan and Zain simultaneously looked at Rian. Rian's face which had initially appeared calm, was now filled with embarrassment and curiosity. Rian smiled awkwardly.
Evan, who saw this, laughed and stroked Rian's head. His neat hair was now a little messy.
"Because they weren't eaten right away. But they were tortured with fear first until they had no will to live." Zain continued his story.
"At least please change your expression when telling such things." Rian looked at Zain, who hadn't changed his expression from the beginning.
"Can't you be a little more expressive when telling such stories, to make it more interesting?" Evan said.
Rian looked at Evan and was surprised, as if Evan knew what he was thinking.
"Did I say that out loud?" Rian thought.
Zain looked at Evan and furrowed his brows slightly.
"I talk a lot like this it's already good."
"Ahahaha... yes, yes it is good." Evan laughed out loud, holding his forehead.
"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but could you continue?" Rian, curious, couldn't help but finally muster the courage to ask politely.
Evan covered his mouth and smiled at Zain. Zain, seeing him, smiled faintly and continued his story.
"The villagers were very noisy at that time. Everyone was pointing at someone else to offer the offering. Of course, none of them accepted it.
"And then they started picking up whatever tools they had as weapons. And they started fighting each other. They beat each other like crazy. They didn't differentiate between men and women, young or old, adults or even children."
"The children and women were terrified, they ran and hid. Well, everyone there was terrified. Even the most robust-looking men were terrified."
"They were all scared, and they wanted to live."
"They thought, if they ran now, would they survive? Never mind immortality or anything else they were only concerned with survival."
"Why be afraid, when they asked for it themselves?" Rian commented in a mumble.
Rian seemed to be enjoying Zain's story so much that his body, which had been sitting upright, now relaxed and leaned toward Zain. He listened intently.
Evan chuckled at the sight. A man who looked mature and logical was drawn to a story like a child.
"Then, many of them fled the area. They went so far away that they thought the dragon wouldn't find them."
"Well, it's natural for people to think about fleeing from danger. But unfortunately, the only people who managed to escape were those with money, supplies, and knowledge of other areas."
"The elderly, elderly, and orphaned children were left behind."
"They could only cry in fear and hope for a miracle to save them."