Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 14

A mythical being had appeared.

The dragon hovered high above, its massive jaws stretching open.

Inside its mouth, a red glow pulsed ominously.

That’s pure magic.

This is bad.

It’s about to unleash its breath.

The breath that was said to reduce everything to ash.

The very one that, according to legend, had incinerated entire cities in a single night.

There was no fighting something like this.

This was impossible.

“Everyone, run! Get as far away as possible!”

“No, there’s nowhere to run. Accept it. We hold our ground and defend with everything we have!”

I had barely managed to force my voice out, but Michelle’s commanding shout cut over mine.

Maybe she was right… but still…

“Consider yourselves already dead. That means there’s only one thing to do—stack defensive spells!”

“Layer every barrier we have!”

“Gather around Lady Shifa!”

“At the very least, we have to protect her!”

“Everyone… why?”

The adventurers rushed to surround me.

Of course, I knew them all.

Dai. Ruda. Eltena. Samid. Markus. Bared…

Every single one of them.

I had been a guild employee, after all.

Sitting nervously at the reception desk, struggling with paperwork, fumbling with requests—they had always been kind to me.

They had smiled, reassured me, waited patiently.

Sometimes, they even vented their frustrations, asked for advice, or shared their dreams.

They had all been brilliant adventurers.

“No! Forget about me! Just run!”

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them.

They had lives worth protecting.

“Dai, you have a family, don’t you?”

“Ruda, you just got engaged, right?”

“The rest of you might be single, but that doesn’t mean you should die here!”

“You don’t even have a duty to stay!”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

“Yeah. We can’t do that.”

“Why?”

Why weren’t they running?

Why were they wasting time patting my head?!

“Because it meant a lot to me, you know? That moment when you cast a full-area heal to keep us standing during the stampede.”

“Right? That was amazing. I couldn’t care less about the cowards who ran. Now, I want to protect you.”

“Yeah. I mean, let’s be real—once a dragon shows up, running won’t save us anyway. So we might as well fight how we want to fight.”

“And how I want to fight… is by protecting Lady Shifa.”

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”

“Me too.”

“Everyone…”

I could barely see anymore.

I had meant to focus on the dragon, but my vision blurred.

I had trained as a mage.

I had practiced healing magic tirelessly because I wanted to help them.

That’s why I pushed myself to learn full-area healing—so that one day, I could be useful.

But that’s all I had.

Right now, I was powerless.

I couldn’t even cast a defensive spell.

What was the point of protecting someone like me?

I wanted to say that.

But my mouth refused to move.

The red glow at the dragon’s mouth intensified.

“You’ve done well, Shifa. But you’re not alone. We are a team. Magic Shield!”

“Of course! Magic Shield!”

“We’ll protect Lady Shifa! Magic Shield!”

“Naturally. Magic Shield!”

“You know, getting to see Lady Shifa one last time isn’t a bad way to go. Magic Shield!”

“Quit talking like you’re already dead, idiot! We’re casting this to survive! Magic Shield!”

“Well said. That’s rare, coming from a hothead like Ruda. Magic Shield!”

“That breath is coming any second now! Magic Shield!”

“If we all stack barriers, maybe—just maybe—we can survive! Magic Shield!”

“‘Maybe’? Hell no—we WILL survive! Magic Shield!”

One by one, they layered their protective magic.

There had been nearly a hundred adventurers at the start.

Now, only seventy remained.

But more than half of them were casting magic.

Each barrier had different strength, range, and properties.

But together, they fortified one another, covering everyone.

GRUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!

A thunderous roar shook the ground beneath us.

The dragon’s very presence made the air tremble.

“That pressure is insane…”

“No kidding… It’s exactly what you’d expect from a mythical creature.”

“Ugh… just standing is getting hard…”

“Don’t lose your nerve! It’s just a big monster. If we survive this, we strike back!”

“Michelle, you’re actually saying that while looking at it? Damn, that’s impressive.”

“Everyone… Thank you. It’s coming. But before that—I just want to say… I’m grateful.”

“Yeah, we know.”

“We get it, Lady Shifa.”

At last, the dragon’s jaws stretched wide.

The red magic within its mouth swelled.

The flames burst forth, rampaging wildly, rushing straight toward us.

I refused to close my eyes.

Because the barrier surrounding us was made from their magic.

I had to believe.

I alone had to believe.

Even if everything crumbled in an instant, I could not close my eyes.

I had to see everyone.

I had to burn this moment into my memory.

The dragon’s breath—seething, crimson magic—finally collided with our layered magical barrier.

The impact sent violent tremors through the air, shaking the ground and scattering shockwaves in all directions.

For an instant, there was balance—a fragile equilibrium.

Incredible.

The barrier was holding against the breath.

The outermost layer—was that Michelle’s?

It cracked, and the next barrier took the brunt of the assault.

That one—was it Eltena’s?

One by one, each magic shield stood against the relentless force of the dragon’s breath.

Little by little, it was weakening the attack.

But the breath did not stop.

It continued.

Unforgiving. Overwhelming. Crushing everything in its path.

Shattering all of their efforts.

Someone…

Not me.

I don’t care about myself.

Just… save them.

Please…

“Damn… I never thought layered Magic Shields could hold up against a dragon’s breath this much.”

“Huh?”

“I know you might not like this, but let me join in. Magic Shield!”

A hallucination?

I thought I heard something.

At that moment, the final Magic Shield shattered.

A blinding explosion erupted—plunging my vision into darkness.

“You all did well. That was amazing.”

“Huh?”

That voice…

“Lax?”

“Yeah. Sorry for the delay.”

The man I had called by name met my gaze with his usual carefree expression.

And pulled me into an embrace.