Crash!
The tail of the Royal Wyvern lashed out like a whip, and with a thunderous roar, the trees of the forest collapsed like dominoes.
"Ugh...!"
Kay was sent sprawling, tumbling through the mud.
His entire body screamed in agony. His left shoulder had already been dislocated and hung uselessly, and blood spurted relentlessly from his side.
The opponent was a Royal Wyvern—a creature on an entirely different level than an ordinary wyvern.
Its scales were harder than steel, and the flames it exhaled could melt even solid rock.
Ten years old... is this the limit of a mediocre talent?
Kay gritted his teeth as his vision began to blur.
His sword was already chipped and worn, its edge jagged like a saw blade. He had no mana, no physical reinforcement—just the body of an ordinary human.
But he refused to back down.
Kyaaaa!
The Royal Wyvern roared, certain of its victory. Its maw opened wide, snapping toward Kay’s head.
"Don’t make me... laugh."
Kay squeezed out the last of his strength and lunged forward. He didn't retreat; he charged.
"I'll rip your throat out... and feed you to my siblings!"
He dodged the wyvern’s fiery breath by a hair's breadth, diving deep into the creature's guard.
If you cannot avoid the attack, dive into the heart of it. That was the survival method Kay had honed over five years of battling wild beasts.
Thrust!
The broken tip of his blade pierced the wyvern's reverse scale.
A single, precise strike aimed directly at the heart.
Kuooh!
The wyvern writhed in agony, slamming Kay into the ground. But it was too late. With its heart ruptured, the magical beast fluttered its massive wings one last time before collapsing with a heavy thud.
"...Hah, hah."
Kay lay sprawled on the dirt, staring up at the sky.
He had won. He had caught it. He had killed it.
But the cost was brutal. Battered across his entire body and suffering from massive blood loss, he didn't have the strength to move a single finger.
I have to get back... I have to make the kids' breakfast...
His consciousness began to fade.
It was then.
Countless red glints flashed within the darkness.
It wasn't just one.
Drawn by the scent of the fallen Royal Wyvern's blood, a pack of wyverns had gathered.
Kieeee! Grrr!
Half a dozen wyverns circled Kay, salivating.
To them, Kay was no longer a hunter. He was merely a piece of meat, neatly prepared for the taking.
Damn... is this where it ends?
Kay closed his eyes.
Greater than the fear of death was the crushing guilt he felt for the children waiting at home.
I wanted to give them more delicious things to eat.
I wanted to play with them more, to hold them more...
One wyvern lunged, aiming for Kay's throat.
Just as the sharp teeth were about to sink in—
Flash!
A golden streak of light tore through the pitch-black darkness.
It was not mere light, but a storm of compressed mana.
K-boom!!
The head of the charging wyvern vanished without a trace.
Before a single drop of blood could spray, the creature was reduced to ash and scattered to the wind.
"...Who?"
Kay forced his eyes open. In the moonlit clearing of the forest, a girl stood there.
A small girl with blonde hair fluttering in the breeze, wearing ragged clothes that looked like they belonged to a man.
She was only five years old, yet she radiated a nobility more profound than that of any knight.
Artoria Pendragon.
In her hand, she held the wooden sword Ector had carved for her to practice with.
However, the wooden sword was enveloped in a shimmering blue mana, glowing as if it were a holy sword.
"...Step back."
Artoria's voice was cold, but the anger hidden beneath it was searing.
"Get away from my brother, you wretched beasts."
As she took a step forward, the earth trembled.
An overwhelming pressure, akin to a conqueror's aura, erupted from the body of a five-year-old child.
The mana of the Pendragons, possessing the heart of the Red Dragon and rivaling that of the White Dragon Vortigern, was the very definition of terror to the wyverns.
The wyverns recoiled, paralyzed by fear.
"Artoria... you, how...?"
Kay groaned.
Without looking back, Artoria leveled her wooden sword at the wyverns.
"I had a dream... a dream that you were in danger, brother. When I woke, you were gone."
Her gaze fell upon Kay's blood-soaked body.
In an instant, her emerald eyes wavered.
"...You foolish man."
She whispered softly, but the words were laden with an indescribable emotion.
They were born with talent. They possessed the heart of a dragon, were born as fairies like Morgan, or were blessed by the cosmos.
But this man? He had nothing. No mana, no divine protection, no innate bloodline.
And yet, every single night, he risked his life in this perilous forest just to feed them.
Simply because he was their brother.
Despite not sharing a single drop of blood, he moved to fulfill a duty he had no reason to bear. He persisted in a task that even Merlin would have abandoned and fled from.
"Brother... you really are a fool."
Artoria bit her lip, her heart pounding against her ribs.
This wasn't simple familial love. Was it respect? Gratitude? Awe?
No, it was something more primal and intense.
I want to protect him.
More than the desire to become a king and protect a nation, she felt a burning longing to protect this scarred man right here, right now.
Her heart flared with heat.
K-boom!
A golden aura exploded from Artoria's body.
The wyverns shrieked and charged.
But she was too fast. She was so fast she became a blur.
A single swing.
The wooden sword cleaved the air, sending a golden slash flying forward.
In the next heartbeat, two of the charging wyverns were sliced clean in half.
Thud, thud.
Chunks of meat rained down upon the earth.
The remaining wyverns fled without even a scream, their animal instincts screaming a warning.
That small human was a dragon.
Once the threat was gone, Artoria lowered her sword and rushed to Kay's side.
The image of the sovereign was gone, replaced by the tearful face of a five-year-old child.
"Brother! Please, wake up!"
She cupped Kay's blood-stained cheek with her tiny hands.
They were warm, and the gesture was heartbreaking.
"...Sorry. I have to make breakfast... I'll be a bit late."
Kay managed a raspy joke. Large tears began to fall from Artoria's eyes.
She buried her face in his chest.
"I don't need breakfast... I don't need to eat meat."
She gripped the fabric of his clothes tightly.
"So... please don't get hurt. Please..."
Kay weakly lifted his hand to stroke Artoria's blonde hair.
His hand was filthy with blood and grime, but Artoria did not pull away.
Instead, feeling his touch, she made a vow.
I will protect him.
Becoming a king? Saving Britain?
Those were problems for later.
To her, the most precious thing in the world was the back of this man.
"Let's go home, brother. I'll... carry you."
Five-year-old Artoria strained and grunted as she tried to help ten-year-old Kay to his feet.
Of course, the size difference made it impossible to actually carry him, but she used mana reinforcement to support his weight.
Along the moonlit forest path,
a blood-stained boy and a small girl of light walked together.
Their shadows stretched long behind them.
That night,
long before the legend of the King of Knights, a young girl's first love quietly began.
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