"W-what should we do?"

"Meow, I don't think I can scratch that big human." Orion was the most agile and fastest among them running, so he was in front.

"Can that even be called a human?"

"My dagger is too short. But if we still have to fight it…"

"Don't look back." Seth didn’t dare do so.

The cultists who were trying to stop them were distracted as they ran away from the monster.

"But what about Sir Isaac?" It was Celia who voiced her concern.

Before Seth could reply, a sword suddenly flew from behind him. He quickly side-stepped it before it could penetrate his leg. It was a familiar, plain sword.

He stopped and looked behind him. "I wouldn't believe it if you said that's a mistake."

Amidst the chaos, Isaac had followed them. With his sharp gray eyes, he glared at them. "Give me the dragon."

"What do you want the dragon for?" Seth held the dragon in his arms closer. ‘Even if he saved my life before, I still can’t give up the dragon.’

"I'm going to kill him. Rather than letting him suffer, the dragon should die painlessly."

‘Although it was mentioned in the novel that someone interrupted the ceremony, I didn’t expect that it was Isaac who came. But in the end, he still failed to get the dragon.’ Although Seth was confused, he didn’t let the dragon go. "Are you saying that you want to kill the dragon for his own good?"

Isaac was quietly staring at him.

"That's your own opinion. The dragon doesn't want it. Besides, the dragon will have a better future with me. I will treat him well."

"...You are the same as the cult leader. If you are going to take it away, then you'll have to fight against me."

"Are you sure about that?" Seth smirked.

Rocks flew in their direction. Isaac widened his eyes as he tried to avoid it. Lord Malgerius knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground. Even if he was still an expert swordsman, they were still facing a human assimilated with parts of a dragon.

Lord Malgerius rampaged through the village, attacking the people and the surroundings. The cultists scattered in panic, screaming as the flames engulfed their robes and the wooden structures of the houses.

"Aaaaaa!!"

"Help! Help me!"

Houses and makeshift structures were quickly reduced to ashes, and the air was filled with the acrid scent of burning wood and charred flesh. Among them, the innocent villagers were also killed and trampled under the falling woods.

Seth and company wasted no time and arrived at the two-story house on the outskirts of the village. Still, the monster wasn't far from where they were, so there was no knowing whether he would come to them.

Seth put the dragon on the table and checked his breathing. Sensing that the dragon was fine, he instructed the others. "Orion, check the horse to see whether it's okay or not. We have to leave this place right now."

"O-okay, meow." Orion immediately jumped and left the house.

"Celia, you go upstairs and pack our stuff."

"Okay!"

Seth looked at the exhausted twins that had been running with them. "You two should also pack your stuff."

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Leon asked in confusion.

"You two are leaving with us as well. You can't be thinking about staying at this place, right?"

Noel was surprised but also happy that she and her brother were going to leave this place. "Our belongings were already stolen. We only have a worn-out blanket."

‘So, they are also victims of bandits like me. They look no different than the homeless children in the village, which is why I didn’t notice that they were royalties.’ While he was momentarily lost in thought, he sensed that something was approaching them.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

He turned to the right and heard a loud crash hitting the rooftop and then falling to the floor from the empty house beside theirs. Even then, the dragon in his hand was still sleeping quietly. Seth could also hear Celia’s surprise scream from upstairs.

He immediately gave the dragons to the twins as he went to the scene.

Isaac was sprawled on the floor with his sword on the side.

In The Summoned Hero, Isaac meets the Hero as his mysterious helper. But looking at his condition right now made Seth doubt whether he would be alive by then.

"Hey, are you still alive?"

Isaac coughed up blood as he turned his head to the side. "You… cough."

“You don’t look so good.”

Isaac got up on the ground slowly and grabbed his sword.

"Seth Whitlock!"

He gritted his teeth and glared at the blonde-haired man.

"Why are you mad at me? It's not like I'm the one who caused you to be like this." Seth shrugged in response.

At that moment, he could see from his peripheral view that something flew towards them. He immediately jumped away, but the impact of the object falling caused him to fly and hit the ground outside.

"Ugh..." he held his chest as he looked up at Lord Malgerius. ‘If it wasn't for Amulet of Warding, I would have died from the impact. It’s the second time that it's been used.’

"Grrr." Lord Malgerius was glaring at Isaac, the culprit who disturbed the ceremony, in resentment.

"Why did you bring him here?" Seth looked at the children that were still in the house. They were looking at him in concern.

Isaac glared at him briefly before focusing his attention on the giant monster in front of him. "I'll deal with you later."

Lord Malgerius raised his hand and pounded the ground Isaac had just stood on. Isaac leaped and swung his sword at the monster's arm. The monster's skin was tough, as only a small scratch was made on it.

Seeing that Isaac wasn’t dealing a lot of damage to the monster, Seth suggested. "We should work together to kill him."

"I refuse."

‘How stubborn.’ Seth commented. "You look like you are struggling."

"I can’t hope for someone who struggled to kill an E-tier monster to help me." Isaac continued attacking the monster as he slashed the air and sent shockwaves that hit the monster.

Seth was slightly flabbergasted. "That's different."

‘I could hit the statues that I encountered a few days ago. I feel like they were stronger than Lord Malgerius.’ Closing his eyes, he concentrated the mana flowing through his veins and aimed his arms at the leg of the monster.

Swoosh.

A yellow-white ball flew and hit the target.

"Kuooh!" Lord Malgerius screamed and fell to the ground as his leg exploded.

Seth was glad that his attack was effective against the target, but the side effect of the attack was that his veins felt like they were bursting.

Lord Malgerius turned to look at the culprit and roared in anger. He then chased Seth with a missing leg. The pace was slower than before, and Seth ran away, hopping through the debris on the way.

The monster suddenly screamed again. Seth looked behind him to see Isaac, who had pierced the monster's nape. He pushed down the sword with his weight until the skin was open to the monster's back. The monster thrashed around and tried to grab Isaac.

"You! Do the attack again! Aim at his head!" Isaac yelled as he avoided the huge hand aiming at him.

"What about you?!"

"I'll be fine!"

"Don't blame me if you get hit as well!" Seth pulled out the vitality potion from the space-dimension box and immediately drank it. His stamina was recovering, and his arms were less hurtful.

He concentrated again and aimed his arms at the head of the struggling monster. Lord Malgerius, who had turned into a mindless monster, seemed to know that someone was aiming at him.

The monster suddenly stiffened, as though Isaac's sword had struck a nerve. Seth took a chance to deliver a blow to the head.

Boom!

Half of the monster's head was blown off. He lost his strength and let out a final, painful noise. Isaac had already moved away before he was hit by the attack.

‘My arms feel like they were about to fall off.’ Seth smiled slightly at Isaac, who was exhausted. "It seems to be stronger than the Swamp Toad. How is it? I'm pretty good, right?"

Isaac opened his mouth as if he were about to sneer but held himself back. "It was you who infiltrated the cave yesterday. What do you want from the dragon?"

"You don't have to worry. I'm not like Lord Malgerius. I only need the dragon to help me for a bit. After that, it's free to go."

Isaac was still suspiciously looking at him. Even though he looked like he would pass out anytime soon, he still raised his sword, getting ready for another fight.

‘I can’t afford to fight back right now. He’s a strong swordsman and moves quickly. There’s no way I can win against him.’ As he tried to think of ways to escape, Celia and the children came running towards him.

"Seth!"

"Mister!"

"Wow, you look pretty beat up," Leon commented as he looked at Seth up and down.

Without any hesitation, Celia began healing his arms.

"Mister, are you hurt anywhere else?" Noel's clear, orange-yellow eyes were fixed on him.

Seth smiled slightly at her. "I'm okay. But I saw earlier that you were harmed by cultists."

Noel was embarrassed that someone noticed that she got hurt and looked down. "It doesn't hurt."

"What?! Noel?" Celia quickly paid attention to her.

"Celia, heal her first." Seth turned to look at Isaac.

‘Oh.’ He had already passed out.