A pair of twins born in a deep swamp, never left this mirror-like lake and this small exquisite wooden house since their own memories began.

They still faintly remembered that a man wearing a pure white robe would come here every once in a while, bringing them new clothes, food, and fascinating stories. Listening to those stories, they realized that the world was not just the mirror lake in front of them. Beyond the dense dark forest, there was a broader and more wonderful world.

"Can you take us away?" One day, the more lively sister grabbed the man's robe before he left and asked in a childish voice.

Sorry. The man answered this way. It is your responsibility and the meaning of your existence. If you leave, it would be irresponsible to the millions of people outside the swamp.

In the end, he smiled bitterly, gently stroked the sister's head, and left a sentence.

Wait, I will definitely come back. On the day I return, I will solve everything here and then take you to see the outside world... a broader world.

That was the last time the twins saw that man.

...

"...Hey, do you have any thoughts?"

"It feels like a naive girl falling for a scummy guy... So, you really waited for him here for so long? Never considered leaving?" Etras covered his face and sighed.

"As you can see, my sister has already left." Angelica lightly touched her chest with one hand, revealing a helpless smile. "Maybe it's because of this, the seal couldn't hold much longer."

"Then why not come with us?" Ino's eyes brightened, extending his hand.

"You... Hey hey, she's only fifteen this year!" Etras showed a shocked expression, "I didn't expect you to be this kind of little brother."

"It's not possible," Angelica hesitated for a moment as she looked at Ino's outstretched hand, then let out a soft laugh. "If I wanted to leave at that time, I could have gone with my sister. But...""

"If we simply leave, the revived dragon and the dark Realm will surely devour everything around us. At that time, countless people will lose their families, just like my sister and me... So, I still want to stay here and wait for that big brother to fulfill his promise."

Suddenly, the girl solemnly bowed deeply to the three of them.

"What...?!" Aya sensed something bad from the girl's smiling face.

Boom...

The earth suddenly trembled, as if thousands of horses were charging from all sides. Even the surface of the mirror-like lake fluctuated violently, causing the fish in the water to jump out frantically, as if the water was boiling.

No, upon closer look... it seemed that there were indeed a large number of bubbles emerging from under the water.

"What's happening?!"

Etras immediately prepared his weapon, and the magitech radar was scanning the surroundings, but didn't find anything significant.

"What did you do?" Aya turned around and stared at Angelica.

"I released a part of my power." Angelica turned around and quietly looked at the violently fluctuating lake surface.

It seemed that there was some mechanism beneath the water's surface, which, when activated, caused several black tower-like structures with a bottom diameter of about eight meters to slowly break through the water's surface and expose themselves to the air.

"Half of the seal formation has already collapsed, and the soul of the dragon must be struggling madly. It will be able to break free in a few hours at most. And then..." The glowing runes on the girl's body suddenly came to life, twisting and intertwining on her skin, gradually forming a new spell.

As if resonating with the incantation, the entire formation trembled violently. A semi-transparent milky-white barrier rose from the tower in the middle of the lake, enveloping the entire island.

"Three of you, this is the protective formation prepared by the eye of the formation for the last moment. Without the strength of Holy Rank, it cannot be broken. With my abilities, it's not difficult to maintain it until the resurrection of the Demon Dragon," said Aya frustratedly. This girl insisted on staying with them! Hey, if you want to die, go die by yourself, don't drag others down with you!

Etras tried to aim the cannon at the protective formation that covered their heads and fired a shot. As Angelica had said, the formation remained unaffected by Etras' attack. Perhaps only the spatial laws of Holy Rank could penetrate it.

"...Aya, can you break it?" Etras looked at Aya expectantly.

Don't look at me like that, didn't you hear them say Holy Rank? If I had Holy Rank, would I still be standing here clueless? If I had the strength of Holy Rank, I wouldn't have been knocked unconscious by Tiran's sword and brought back home, would I?

"Sis! We have no choice but to fight now!" the only excited and hot-blooded fool, holding a long spear, eagerly wanted to try it out. He was just a few battle cries away from doing so.

"Tsk, little girl over there, dismiss the barrier, otherwise, even though I don't want to do this, I might have to kill someone. If I solve your formation, it will stop, right?" Etras took a deep breath and made up his mind, coldly turning the cannon towards Angelica.

"Sis, what are you doing!"

"Add one more person, isn't it a bit too much?" Aya also rubbed her hands, not expecting Etras to be so straightforward. Speaking of which, it seemed a little difficult to attack a fifteen-year-old girl without feeling guilty... even though she had indeed tricked herself, she was still alive and well, wasn't she?

"Think it through." Etras had a black line on his face. "Isn't it too unfair to be killed by the Demon Dragon here for no reason? And if the people around us die, the Silver War Maiden won't be happy either, right?"

Tiran?

Aya was stunned, her first reaction was to argue that it had nothing to do with her. After all, she was only forcefully bound by Tiran to sign a master-servant contract. From that perspective, she really didn't need to care about Tiran's feelings.

But why did she feel this resistance? She didn't want to hear her unhappy.

And now that Tiran had lost the power of the laws, and Milanía was plagued by internal and external enemies, if something happened to herself here, the young miss would really be in trouble, right?

So Aya wiped her face and a black aura rose up like an evil dragon. Her crimson pupils were dyed golden by magic, and an invisible pressure oppressed Angelica.

—If only she had more big knives in her hands, she could go robbing… Hmm... a beautiful robber?

Well, it doesn't matter, anyway, the little sister dragon raised her face and tried her best to look evil, then threatened, "Hey you over there, listen to me. You've already been surrounded by me alone! Quickly drop your weapons and cover your head! Dispel the barrier! There are significant benefits. The Imperial Japanese Army will definitely... Ah, spit! What is this nonsense! What happened to all the tough talk? What happened to the threats that could scare children? Tiran, what kind of rubbish are you filling my head with every day!

With that, Aya's face couldn't help but loosen up. Even Etras, whose cannon was already aimed at Angelica, had to pause because of forcefully holding back a laugh, causing the gunner's face to contort.

"I mean, are you here just to be funny?" Ino looked at Aya disdainfully.

Hey! Can't you make fun of someone else?!

"Please stop laughing... Hey, can't you stop laughing? Can't you just ignore my slip of the tongue? Haven't you ever slipped up before... Am I that embarrassing? Stop laughing! Hey, hey, hey! Seriously, can't you stop laughing! Stop laughing!"

"Roar!!!!"

A roar rang out like a thunderbolt in the clear sky. The sound wasn't deafening, but it seemed to permeate with a soul-stirring power. At the moment they heard the sound, even Ino, who was slightly weaker, felt a suffocating sensation as if their heart was being tightly squeezed. It was only with the support of the long gun that they managed to stay upright, but the back of their hand, holding the gun, was already showing prominent veins.

And at this moment, the earth shook once again, and this time the range was much larger than when activating the protective barrier earlier. Aya could clearly see the tall, dense fluorescent plants on the other side of the lake shaking wildly, and there were various wild beasts and monsters howling at the periphery.

"Was that roar just now..."

Etras' face also turned pale. As a gunner, she relied more on equipment, and her physical strength was not as strong as Ino's. Her situation was slightly better thanks to the protection of her magic shield.

"The roar of the dragon."

Aya and Angelica both spoke quietly almost simultaneously, and after a moment of silence, they glanced at each other.

"Wait, I've heard dragon roars before, but isn't this a bit too exaggerated? It feels like even our souls are going to be ripped out..." Etras shivered in fear.

"The Dragon Slayer is a top-notch hero for a reason. If someone's mentality isn't strong enough, they'll be wiped out by the first wave of dragon roars when facing a real dragon." Angelica walked slowly to the edge of the lake, lowered her head and looked at the violently fluctuating water. "It's been so long, and yet the Dragon Soul alone can still emit such a strong pressure..."

"That's why I said we should retreat quickly." Aya's expression also became tense.

To be honest, there are way too many Dragon Slayers now compared to before. Over the thousands of years, not only have humans declined, but even the Dragons haven't fared well. Some of the Dragons from thousands of years ago were called "Ancient Dragon Species," which can be divided into sacred dragons, abyssal dragons, and other intimidating beings just by their names alone. Their strength could even surpass most of the current dragons.

Even Aya, who is now known as the "King" among the Dragons, is not considered an Ancient Dragon Species. At most, she is in the level of being "stronger among the ordinary dragon species."

"That thing down there is definitely on the level of an Ancient Dragon Species. So Angelica, little sister, open the door quickly and let us out!" Aya grabbed her hair and roared.