The dragon that hated humans spread a curse all over the world.

Every dark night, the scattered curse became a disaster, seeking humans, and there were three things to be said from the mouth of those captured by the curse.

Die on the spot, go mad and kill anything that comes close, or become something mixed with the curse.

The worst was the last.

The birth of something mixed with the curse.

And now, it seemed like the worst situation.

Kyaaaa!

It was like a sound made by overlapping the screams of dozens of children.

People who had been asleep from the chilling cry woke up in confusion and peered out the window.

In the dark, a white and disgusting figure revealed itself.

It had the shape of a dragon.

But the skin was torn here and there, revealing bones and blood vessels. The massive skull was filled with iciclelike teeth and horns, and the wings scraping the ground were tattered and grotesque like spider webs.

It was like a rotting corpse.

Moreover, it was confusingly large.

As it raised its body, its head became endlessly tall, and the thing that stood tall was gigantic enough to be believed as the shadow of a castle.

“What is that…?”

Evie turned pale at the grotesque sight.

Even Evie, who was from Vis, had never seen anything like this before.

The corpse of the risen dragon swayed and staggered.

At the sight, people wailed in unison. It was approaching the village.

In extreme fear, people were fiercely conflicted whether to flee or continue hiding.

Salt could not stop the curse that had already taken form. The Duke’s army had to come to face it.

A person unable to bear the pressure ran out of the house. Once one person ran, everyone banged on the doors to escape without exception.

Thus, the once quiet streets suddenly became chaotic with rushing people and screams.

“Servant…”

Evie also felt like she had to run away and looked at Diès.

But Diès, who would normally have moved before Evie, was not moving and was looking out the window.

It was a face as if waiting for something.

Then, the body of the curse that had been crawling and grumbling suddenly tilted to the side. Then, like a tree falling, it made a tremendous noise and fell over.

Kyaaaaaaaak!

It screamed with hundreds of voices. Those who were fleeing also screamed in unison.

“What, what is it?”

“It must be the Count.”

Diès whispered to the startled Evie.

Evie, whose mind had been captured by the curse, had missed it, but Diès had heard it clearly.

The sharp whistle that rang from the upstairs earlier, and even the sound of wings pretending to be the wind passing overhead.

At the mention of the Count, Evie looked out the window in surprise.

The curse shook its huge skull in irritation and fell again in the opposite direction.

The curse screamed, and the people, not understanding why, screamed along.

“…Yesterday, a lady said so. The teacher came, and the damage was much less on that dark night.”

“But I can’t think that the teacher would be there.”

At Diès’s words, Evie dumbly nodded.

Even knowing the Count’s identity, that situation felt dreamlike.

At the same time, she could be sure. This place was quite precious to that person.

After being beaten a few times, the rotting body of the curse began to collapse.

As the already dead dragon fell again, the people finally realized something and stopped fleeing.

“That Count is really unnecessarily talented. Is it the price for giving up his personality?”

Evie spoke frivolously as the tension relaxed.

The curse of a dead dragon did not work on the one who made it fall.

Why on earth was she tied to such a guy? Evie grumbled lightly to herself.

The shape of the dragon slowly crumbled. So when the people realized it was over, not knowing why, and were about to pat their chests…

Kyaaaaaaa!

It screamed one last time.

Along with the cursefilled dying breath, it spewed something towards the village.

The gleaming white fog surged like a tidal wave recorded in ancient literature.

People sensed the danger. Yet, they could not dare to attempt to avoid it, frozen in place.

At the moment the pure white fog was about to engulf the village, lightning tore the black sky.

Boom! With a thunderous noise, the fog stretching towards the village split apart.

It tore like a paper string, grazing the sides of the village, and the people slumped down in their places without even knowing what had happened.

They all felt as if they had lost several years of their lives.

But it was not over yet.

A bitter smell spread from the fog surrounding the village.

And the people soon realized that it was poison.

…

…

…

The events of a moonless night are merely the result of bad luck.

There’s no way to explain them otherwise.

Even if you prepare, even if you hold an ample amount of purifying salt, even if some unknown aid blocks the spirit of the dragon.

Even then, the grudge that lingers during the moonless night cruelly extinguishes life.

Its evil is enormous and eternal, too overwhelming for mere humans to bear.

The dark moon had passed, and dawn broke.