Last Flame

Frontenium.

The ore named after Frontesis, known as the Aspect of Protection and Stone, could be handled only by Frontesis himself.

That even Frontesis couldn’t handle it.

Valdrova asked him in surprise,

“What happened?”

“You see……. The fire in the furnace of the Primordial Forge is weakening…….”

The Primordial Forge had been made with the power of lava and fire flowing deep underground.

“The flames? Even if they’ve weakened, weren’t they still incredibly strong?”

“They are strong. Of course they are! Steel and other inferior materials would melt easily, but…… not frontenium anymore. I tried to melt it several times, but it wouldn’t heat up even a little.”

“Oh no…….”

“I can’t face this sober. I need a drink. Could you give me some alcohol?”

“It’s ready.”

Luri handed him a bottle as though she had been waiting for him to ask, and Frontesis hurriedly opened it, trying to wash down the disgust lingering in his mouth with the alcohol.

Once he had calmed down somewhat, he continued speaking.

“I knew the fire in the furnace was gradually weakening. The fact that nothing can remain the same is one of the laws established by the Primordial.”

“But doesn’t that matter? You said you wouldn’t make any more weapons from frontenium…….”

“That was something I could choose not to do. But now, even if I want to do it, I no longer have the ability.”

There was a difference between choosing not to do something and being unable to do it.

The reason Frontesis had become so depressed was that he could see himself gradually becoming useless.

“That demon-hunting madman.”

Another name for Alberto.

“When that bastard came to me, I thought it would be my final chance to handle frontenium. But…… just look at the shape of that armor. It has none of that brilliant color, it only half-melted and became warped, and it turned into an incredibly heavy and unstable lump of rock! The result was such a failure that no one would believe I had made it!”

Frontesis gulped down his drink, trying to swallow his bitterness.

“That’s when I realized it. I had truly become a useless bastard.”

“……”

“That damned bastard. I didn’t like the way he asked for it, either. But I was tempted by his ambition to beat down every demon, so I accepted his proposal……. He even asked if I could give him my last flame when I could no longer work it properly.”

Frontesis’s expression turned fierce.

“Even now, it makes me angry. That good-for-nothing bastard! I should run over there right now and smash his skull……!”

“Please calm down.”

Frontesis picked up the hammer he had set down and began huffing angrily again.

Valdrova calmed him down.

Once his anger subsided, his face immediately became that of a gloomy old man.

Frontesis covered his face because he did not want Valdrova to see him looking like that.

“This means my era is over, too. I was a dragon whose greatest achievement was making a single weapon from an ore bearing my name, and now even that is gone. I’m nothing but a huge, fat, lazy lizard playing king.”

Frontesis let out a deep sigh and continued.

“Anyway…… the Primordial Forge’s furnace won’t be able to melt frontenium.”

“Hmm…….”

“Damn it, nothing is going right. Even though my lovely Valdrova found the courage to set foot in the world again, there’s nothing I can do for her.”

Valdrova seemed to ponder something before asking him,

“Frontesis.”

“What is it?”

“Would it be enough…… if you could do it just one last time?”

At her question, Frontesis raised his head.

He seemed to understand what Valdrova was saying, and his face looked as though he had caught hold of a sliver of hope.

“Valdrova…… surely you don’t mean…….”

“Would once more be enough, Frontesis?”

“Of course. Of course it would! Once more is enough.”

Ferda could guess what Valdrova was proposing and why Frontesis had reacted that way.

The Primordial Forge was what could melt frontenium.

Valdrova was the Aspect of Power and Fire.

That meant her flames were as powerful as, or even more powerful than, the fire in the furnace of the Primordial Forge.

“I understand. Let’s do it.”

Valdrova quietly nodded, and all worry and gloom vanished from Frontesis’s face.

“I’ll prepare everything at once! Hey, Valdrova’s fiancé!”

He said this while pointing at Ferda.

“Yes?”

“Go tell that damn worthless bastard to bring me every bit of frontenium covering his body! We’re going to draw out the highest-purity metal properly, so we’ll need all of it! If he refuses, beat him to death!”

“Understood.”

Ferda delivered Frontesis’s message to Alberto.

Alberto obediently removed all of his armor and handed it to Ferda.

It had been thick armor befitting a walking fortress, but now he looked no different from a single heavily armored cavalryman.

Alberto did not seem to care about his appearance.

His goal was the only thing that mattered, and he was completely absorbed in it.

They took the frontenium they had gathered to the inner reaches of Valdrova’s lair.

Valdrova’s space instantly became a makeshift forge.

Burnell and the castle’s blacksmiths were there as well.

“So all we have to do is pour it into this mold?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good. I can feel my motivation coming back! You young mortals!”

Burnell and the blacksmiths were left dumbfounded.

Burnell was surprised that facing a dragon was more comfortable than he had expected.

Aside from the horns on his head, Frontesis was little more than a very large dwarf.

The blacksmiths, meanwhile, looked as though they might faint at any moment.

Frontesis was counted among the gods of blacksmithing, and here he was, handling their tools right before their eyes.

“Everyone except those involved, get out now! From this moment on, the greatest undertaking you mortals have ever witnessed is about to begin!”

His energy was astonishingly high for a dragon who had been steeped in gloom moments earlier.

Valdrova watched him regain his vigor, then quietly asked Ferda,

“Would you like to watch, Mr. Ferda?”

She asked him.

“It may be dangerous.”

“Even if it’s dangerous, I’d like to see it if I can.”

“Yes, Luri.”

“Understood.”

Luri commanded the wind and raised a fierce gale that enveloped the surrounding area.

The space was almost completely cut off from the outside.

Luri exhaled thoughtfully, murmuring, “Hmm……,” before asking Ferda,

“Sir Ferda, do you know any frost magic?”

“I know a few spells.”

“Then please use them. This won’t be enough for you to endure it.”

“How much will be enough?”

Luri replied,

“You’ll have to freeze yourself solid.”

A short while later, it became clear that she had not been exaggerating.

Valdrova returned to her original form.

In the shape of a colossal dragon, she looked down at the vessel containing the gathered frontenium.

Ferda braced himself for what would happen next.

She would breathe out scorching breath and melt all the frontenium.

That was what he thought, but he was completely wrong.

Her head dipped toward the vessel, her mouth slightly open.

A tiny, jewel-like light about the size of a thumb.

It was on an entirely different level from the flames in her belly that shifted between yellow and red.

It was as though she had drawn in the sun from far away, and that sun fell into the center of the mass of frontenium.

FWOOSH!!

The inside of the vessel instantly burst into flames, radiating heat.

“Ngh.”

The frost scattered around him, and his trembling body instantly found warmth.

The warmth immediately turned into heat and began to burn Ferda’s body.

Even though the large vessel redirected the heat so Ferda could endure it and all kinds of barrier magic had been cast, it was still that intense.

Ferda increased the power of his magic with the intention of freezing himself solid and widened his eyes.

It was more than worth the risk.

He could see her pure power here, something he had never witnessed even once before.

“Good!”

Frontesis began casting.

He repeatedly plunged his hands into the vessel and withdrew them, guiding the metal to melt evenly.

The armor that had looked like a mass of rock melted into a soft mass and began to shine.

Its color was a radiant gold.

“Yes, this is it.”

Frontesis’s eyes seemed to be caught in a state of ecstasy.

“My ore used to shine like this.”

The flame of desire that had lain dormant in Frontesis’s heart blazed to life.

He carefully began pouring the molten frontenium into the mold he had prepared.

As he poured, he murmured as though whispering to children,

“Go in slowly. That’s right. There’s still plenty of room for you…….”

The radiant frontenium filled the mold.

Frontesis finished by sealing the mold’s opening.

The intense heat immediately subsided.

Frontesis carefully set down the mold and said to Ferda,

“Let it cool like this for about four days, and it will be finished. Give it to that damned bastard.”

“Thank you, Frontesis.”

“And there is a little left over…….”

A very small amount of molten frontenium had pooled at the bottom of the vessel that had held it.

“Hmm…… at this amount, I suppose I can take a little from that insolent bastard.”

Frontesis thought for a moment, then scraped together the molten metal.

Once it was in his hand, the frontenium quickly cooled and was drawn out into long, thin strands like noodles.

Despite his rough appearance and thick fingers, his hands were remarkably delicate.

He focused intently on something and shaped it with care, finally wearing a satisfied expression.

“Done.”

Frontesis picked up the object and slowly walked over to Valdrova.

“Valdrova, my little lady. Here, take this.”

“What is this…….”

What he had made was a pair of rings.

He had delicately carved stems and small blossoms from thin strands, with one large flower blooming at the center.

They were so delicate that no craftsman could have made them.

“Wedding rings. They look a little plain right now, but if I send for a capable craftsman to set in a few jewels, they’ll be something to see.”

“Frontesis…….”

“Did I get carried away? I haven’t turned into some strange old man who went and made wedding rings without permission, have I?”

“No……. I hadn’t even thought about wedding rings yet.”

“Then could you wear them? For my sake?”

“Of course.”

Valdrova’s voice was thick with emotion.

Frontesis lowered his head, overcome with joy and guilt.

“I’ve done so many things, so saying this to you feels rather awkward, but…… I hope you’ll live a happy life with your fiancé.”

“No, Frontesis. I’ll be sure to remember the feelings behind this.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

Frontesis kissed the back of Valdrova’s hand once more.

Frontesis looked completely relieved.

“Then this old man had better be going. Tell that damned bastard to hurry up and die. Valdrova’s fiancé, would you see me to the exit?”

“Yes, gladly.”

Ferda matched his pace beside the waddling Frontesis.

Once he judged they were sufficiently far from the lair, Frontesis spoke again.

“I asked you to see me off because there’s something I want to tell you.”

Ferda had a feeling that was the case.

“Please speak.”

“I have something to tell you. Can you promise not to ask any questions about it and not to tell anyone?”

“What could it be……?”

“I’ll only accept an answer to that question. If you promise, I’ll tell you.”

Ferda thought for a moment before answering.

“As the archduke’s fiancé, I promise.”

Frontesis then said to him,

“Valdrova, that child is growing weaker.”

“What? What do you mean……?”

Frontesis raised one of his thick fingers.

It meant that Ferda was to keep his promise not to ask questions, so he held his tongue.

“It was wonderful being able to see her after so long, and since we had been apart for so long, I had no idea how her power had changed…… but after seeing the flame she raised, I think I understand. She’s growing noticeably weaker.”

Frontesis looked up at the outside with worried eyes.

“Nothing is the way it used to be. Not me, not the Primordial Forge, and not that child……. The foretold twilight of the dragons is coming to pass.”

“……”

“Now everything rests with you, her fiancé, young mortal. Take good care of your fiancée.”

After stepping outside, Frontesis bent his body toward the ground.

At the same time, his body began to swell, and before he had fully returned to his original form, he dug into the earth and disappeared deep inside it.

Ferda stared blankly at the place where the soil had been overturned.

She is growing weaker.

The twilight of the dragons is coming to pass.

After saying nothing but incomprehensible, ominous things, he had suddenly vanished, leaving Ferda unable even to gather his thoughts.

Seeing no point in standing there blankly, Ferda returned to Valdrova’s side.

She was sitting on the floor, humming a little tune.

“Mr. Ferda.”

Her voice was bright and carefree, as though she had no idea what Ferda was thinking.

She was completely immersed in happiness.

“Come sit beside me.”

She tapped the bare floor beside her.

Ferda carefully sat down next to her.

Valdrova shifted her hips, then pressed herself right up against Ferda’s side.

With their shoulders touching, she showed him the ring she had been holding dear.

“Isn’t this ring so pretty?”

“It is.”

“This will be our wedding ring. See this little groove?”

“I see it.”

“If we put a jewel here, it will sparkle and shine.”

“I see.”

“I want to put a blue jewel resembling your eyes in mine. And I’ll set a red jewel in yours. What do you think?”

“Whatever you imagine, it will surely be wonderful.”

“Our wedding will be just as wonderful.”

Lost in happiness, Valdrova rested her head on Ferda’s shoulder.

The weight settling on his shoulder began to ache his heart more than fill him with excitement.

At least he was relieved that Valdrova could not see his face.