It's Not Night

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Chapter 40

Dustin suddenly realized that he was running blindly. Gasp, gasp. He was out of breath. His heart was pounding and it felt like it was going to explode at any moment, and his legs were getting weaker. It seemed like if he would stumble, he would just fall and never get up again.

‘Wait, why the hell am I running?’

Dustin, who was running, was suddenly enveloped in doubt. Why was he running? The last thing he could remember was that he and Andra entered the hidden temple of the dungeon and that he lost consciousness when he saw the light from the altar. He couldn’t possibly be running.

Dustin looked around. He was in a rough forest with large, rough trees growing together. The rocks also rose irregularly here and there, making it even more rough. He looked at the forest with unbelievable eyes.

‘Forest?’

Is it really a forest? Was there a forest in the dungeon? Dustin was confused. He was trapped in the dungeon, so there was no way he could be in the forest. It’s absurd. Maybe it’s a hallucination? Thinking like that, he was about to slap his cheek. A loud roar was heard behind the space where he was.

GRAHH!

It sounded like the roar of an angry beast, and the sound that followed was not usual..

Pshk, pshaak! Ruuumble, shriek, BANG!

As soon as he looked back, the trees burst out. A broken tree shard passed by Dustin’s cheek. After that, the rock was shattered and rolled on the floor, and the ground was hollowed out.

Dustin realized something was chasing him. And that’s why he was constantly running now. He intuitively felt the danger. He didn’t know what’s behind him, but he shouldn’t allow himself to be caught. He thought it would be difficult to survive if he was caught.

‘Damn it!’

Dustin cut the obstacles in front of him with his sword and ran. He has to leave here. Wait… sword? Dustin found a sword that fit perfectly in his hand, and at this, he furrowed his brow. He had a sword in his hand, but the technical use was a mess. He reflexively spat out swear words at the iron sword that could only be used in ancient times.

‘Where else did you get this from?’

Of course, it was better than nothing in such a dire situation. But compared to the sword he was carrying, it was no help.

When there was a big earthquake in the dungeon, Dustin fell down and lost it. In fact, he still resented it and regretted it. In order to save Andra, he willingly gave up his sword to save her, yet instead of thanking him, she told him not to treat her like a fool. So of course he would regret it.

He would rather have his sword. Dustin frowned at the sudden memory.

[ How dare! How dare you! ]

At that moment, there was a roaring sound all around him. Dustin ran while he was startled. Groooaahh! With the sound, the forest in the back flew into a mess once more. It was an instant that an intact forest turned into a swampy field.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

[ How dare! How dare you! ]

Again, the angry voice shouts that the whole area resonates. All of a sudden, Dustin was able to tell without difficulty who the voice was coming from.

A large creature that casts a shadow over the sky to cover the forest and flies with wings the size of a house.

It was a dragon, a legendary animal that he had only seen in books.

[ How dare you! Steal my fire! ]

Every time the dragon’s red tail was swung around, the ground cracked open and the trees were helplessly smashed and flew away. It seemed that the cause of the roar that had just been heard was that.

Dustin swore to himself and continued to run forward to avoid being caught and crushed by the dragon. From behind, the dragon’s large, sharp claws rush through the forest.

[ Fire! My fire! ]

The dragon has been looking for fire for a long time. What’s more, seeing him so angry made it seem like someone unscrupulous had stolen the dragon’s cherished fire. The dragon was so angry that it flew through the sky, stirred once through the forest, and then flew again and again through the forest.

Occasionally, the dragon’s tail flew to where Dustin was, so Dustin was nervous and had to run away from the dragon.

‘Damn it, that fire. Who stole it?’

Dustin, who was still holding on to his chest that was about to explode, found a small stone in his arms. It was a red stone. Within the stone, a fire was constantly burning inside as if it had been engraved with flames, which was unusual for anyone to see.

As soon as he saw it, Dustin sighed and put the stone back into his arms. Damn, that fire thief must have been himself. But from his point of view, it was just unfair. Dustin never stole any fire from a dragon.

[ My fire! How dare! My fire! ]

However, the dragon had no way of knowing about Dustin’s circumstances. The dragon continued to rummage the forest in search of the fire thief. The forest was quickly dug up here and there and it was becoming a mess. Dustin, who continued to run, decided that his body had reached its limit and that he really couldn’t run any longer, so he hurriedly looked around.

‘I need a place to hide.’

He needed a place to escape safely until the dragon passed by. Dustin caught his eye on a large tree. If he hid under that root, the dragon might pass by without noticing him. The dragon seemed to be destroying the forest at random, not knowing where the fire thief was. He quickly crept under the root of the tree.

The space under the root of the tree was quite large. Dustin rushed through it. Then he bowed deeply and prayed that the dragon would just pass by like this. Who would have known that he would meet a legendary being after getting swallowed up by some strange light? And he was even facing the consequences of something he didn’t do himself.

Dustin stared at the red stone in his hands.

‘If I give it back…’

At that moment, someone’s voice popped into his head. ‘Are you kidding me? Is your head working?’ A voice full of contempt. There was definitely a voice that looked down on him. But who? Dustin tried to remember who the voice was, but then a tree flew over his head in an instant. He hurriedly put the stone into his chest and looked up.

Crunch— The dragon’s tail was passing by. Dustin’s stomach was empty and he hurried to the ground. At this rate, he was left with nothing but getting crushed. However, the dragon who happened to find Dustin was crawling here with flashing yellow eyes.

The speed was so fast that as soon as Dustin did not dodge, the dragon’s sharp claws sank into the place he had been before.

[ Found you, fire thief! ]

The dragon groaned and groaned, stomping at Dustin’s spot with its claws. Dustin had to roll around, trying not to get punctured by the dragon’s formidable claws.

Currently, he was no match for the dragon. First of all, his sword was a sword, but the dragon was a legendary animal in the first place. Dustin, a mere human, was not something that could deal with it.

[ My fire! My fire! ]

As Dustin fled like a rat, and the more enraged dragon started moving his tail more vigorously. Swoosh-kuang! Swoosh-kuakuang! With each movement of the tail, the ground is dug and the trees are swept away. Dustin thought he might die by being swept away by that tail at this rate.

Damn it! He wished he could know the weak points of the dragon!

“Left tail.”

At that moment, someone whispered to Dustin. As Dustin made an unfamiliar expression on his face, someone whispered again.

“The dragon’s weakness, it’s in the left tail.”

Before Dustin could ascertain who the owner of the voice was, he raised his sword and leapt toward the dragon. Strangely, his body was light. He succeeded in distracting the dragon’s gaze and approaching his tail to avoid the attack.

As the voice said, there was a strange scale on the left tail of the dragon. The scales with a single faded color looked weak compared to other scales that were as hard as iron armor. It seemed to be the weakness.
Dustin didn’t hesitate. As soon as he saw the dragon’s weakness, he ran right away. He stepped on the wreckage that the dragon had made and quickly jumped over it. Then he thrust his sword into the dragon’s scales.

The dragon, who had been looking around him in search of Dustin, made an agonizing noise and twisted his body when his scales were suddenly attacked. Because of this, Dustin’s body, holding the sword, shook as well.

[ Graaaaahhh! ]

The dragon howled in agony. Dustin clung to the sword until the end and removed the scales altogether. As the scales fell, at that moment the dragon flopped and fell to the floor. Thud! The floor rumbled, and Dustin fell to the floor just then. There was no strength in his body. He looked like he was going to fall at any moment.

‘I’m going to die.’

His body crumbles to the side. Dustin barely opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Then someone suddenly appeared in front of him. She was a dazzlingly beautiful woman, with gray hair and golden eyes. She seemed to resemble someone.

The woman looked at Dustin with curious eyes.

And then spit out a word.

“I didn’t know you would succeed.”

“Ha.”

Dustin burst out laughing out of absurdity. Does that mean she expected him to fail and die? It was very irresponsible for the person who pointed out the weakness. As he was making a displeased face, the woman suddenly held out her hand.

“Hold it.”

But Dustin, who had no strength to lift a finger as if he had been hit all over his body, could only stare at the woman’s hand that had reached out. At this, the woman tilted her head.

“It’s difficult, isn’t it.”

Then there’s nothing we can do. At the end of those words, the woman leaned over to Dustin.

Dustin looked at the woman and narrowed his brow. What was she going to do now? When he did not understand the woman’s behavior, the woman responded indifferently.

“Because you’re a human who killed a dragon, I’ll give you a special chance to chat with me.”

“…Crazy.”

“There is nothing that you cannot say to a god.”

God? Dustin raised an eyebrow at the woman’s words. Did she just say god with her mouth? Then the woman smiles arrogantly.

“Know that you are lucky. It’s rare to be able to face a god like this.”

The woman caressed Dustin on the cheek once and continued her words.

“So, what did you steal?”

As expected, it’s fire, right? The woman smiled and added her words. And Dustin was so shocked that he couldn’t say anything at the woman’s next words.

“Give it up.”

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────