Chapter 49: New Life

After Alet had burned himself out to complete the final rearguard mission Melro had assigned him, he intended to simply die, bringing his life to a close.

However, just as the earth and stones were about to bury him and keep him in this Lava Heat Zone forever…

A figure he never would have imagined appeared suddenly, standing before him to block the fatal debris.

It was Vivian.

The Witch who was usually cynical, who loved to tease Alet, play with him, and deliberately close the distance between them.

A trace of doubt slowly emerged within his darkened, clouded eyes.

‘Vivian…? Why is she here?’

Why?

He had clearly been abandoned.

He had clearly prepared himself to step toward death.

Why was he being saved at this moment?

He no longer had a reason to continue living.

However, before Alet could stay dazed for long, Vivian, who was currently supporting the weight of the sand and soil, seemed to show a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Hey! Little Knight, why are you spacing out?”

“I know you still have the strength to talk.”

“My arms are getting quite sore from holding this up. Don’t make me wait too long, okay?”

She flashed a sly smile at Alet, eager to hear his response.

Yet, nearly ten seconds passed, and she didn’t receive even a single word in reply.

He lay on the ground, motionless, looking like a corpse.

Vivian knew, of course, that it was impossible for him to actually be dead.

The moment she entered the cavern hall, she had already released her Regeneration Barrier to forcibly suppress Alet’s injuries.

If he wanted to move, he could probably pull off a backflip right now without any issues.

Therefore, the only possibility was… he had completely lost the will to live.

“Sigh.”

Vivian sighed softly.

“To be honest, I didn’t want to say such cheesy things.”

“But I’ve changed my mind now.”

“Little Knight.”

“The reason you’ve been loyal to Melro isn’t just to repay some debt. It’s because…”

“You want a home, don’t you?”

…

*Thump.*

The moment Vivian spoke those words, Alet’s heart gave a violent throb within his broken body.

That single heartbeat thundered in his ears, piercing through his mind like an arrow.

It was followed immediately by a second beat, then a third.

Alet’s heart, which had long since died, seemed to come alive once more.

“You treated Melro like family, but she only wanted to control you, to use you. To squeeze every last drop out of you.”

“Alet, that place wasn’t a home.”

A watery tenderness flowed within Vivian’s eyes. She snapped her fingers softly, fixing the defensive barrier in midair.

Then, she walked slowly toward Alet on the ground.

“But you’re in luck.”

“Right in front of you…”

“There is someone willing to take you in.”

Vivian pressed her hand gently against her chest, as if presenting herself to him.

“Alet, I can give you everything you want.”

“I can give you a home. I can let you eat whatever you want and go wherever you want.”

“You’ll never have to run around for others again; you can do whatever you feel like doing.”

“I can even hand you a glass of sweet, warm milk every night before you sleep.”

“And the only price you have to pay is to call me ‘Miss’.”

“Then, swear to me that you will be my knight from now on. Pledge your loyalty to me.”

“That’s all.”

“Quite a bargain, isn’t it?”

As she spoke, Vivian slowly knelt on one knee beside Alet’s chest, looking at him tenderly.

After Vivian finished speaking, Alet couldn’t hear anything else.

Except for one sound.

The sound of a heartbeat.

His heart beat incessantly, as if this body that should have been dead was screaming out in defiance —

It didn’t want to die.

…

‘I don’t want to die.’

Finally, whether out of instinct or after much consideration, Alet slowly opened his mouth and squeezed out a series of extremely weak but incredibly firm words:

“Vivian…”

“…”

“…Miss.”

“…I, Alet, hereby swear.”

“Until I face betrayal and death, I shall be your knight…”

“…unto eternity.”

Vivian’s heart trembled.

Her fingers quickly curled into a fist, then slowly relaxed.

She had waited for these words for a very, very long time.

Only today did she finally have the confidence to make her wish come true.

“Very well.”

Vivian pretended to be calm and serious, but her voice unconsciously carried a hint of a sob.

She reached out with her fair, soft fingers and pressed them gently against Alet’s battered armor.

Then, her hands began to turn transparent, as if they had become those of a ghost.

Spiritualization.

This was Vivian’s signature ability.

Little by little, Vivian passed her spiritualized hands through Alet’s armor, gently injecting the mana from her own body into his skin.

Suddenly, pale green mana surrounded him like a swarm of fireflies.

A moment later, Vivian acted as if she had grabbed something inside the armor.

“Let’s go, Little Knight.”

“I’m taking you home.”

As she spoke, she gave a light tug with her wrists inside the armor.

In an instant, the surrounding pale green light scattered.

Alet’s flesh-and-blood body, hidden within that armor, was pulled out in a spiritualized state.

That dilapidated suit of armor, covered in scars and blood, was like a ruptured cocoon.

Vivian gazed at him tenderly.

With a crisp snap of her fingers, the Blood Tribe Mark on Alet’s neck, which had already grown dim, suddenly flickered out.

At this moment, he had finally escaped the shell that had bound him for ten years…

And welcomed a new life.

—

The moment they witnessed Alet being swallowed by the collapsing rocks, the largest riot since the start of the tournament broke out in Dice Town.

Originally, most people still held a sliver of hope. They thought Alet’s teammates would go back to save him.

However, this loyal Knight never received any help, right up until the moment he died in battle.

Countless people were shouting and roaring. They even questioned the Adventurer’s Guild about what the point of this competition even was.

To prevent the chaos from spreading further, the Adventurer’s Guild even had to send out specialized personnel to maintain order.

Even the commentator, who had been passionately hyping up the atmosphere earlier, could no longer say a word.

Meanwhile, Ow, the leader of the Owl Guild, stared at the real-time broadcast screen with a pale face.

By now, the competition had reached its conclusion.

Under the relentless pursuit and attacks of numerous teams, the Fire Dragon was eventually killed as expected.

The subjugation was a success, and the team that dealt the final blow and earned the supreme title of Dragon Slayer was…

None other than the Crystal Thorn adventurer group, the ones who had abandoned their teammate.