The day before Seungcheol's father left for the battle that would take his life, he had sat Seungcheol on his bed and told him a story. It was the story of a knight who fought monsters, slew dragons, and protected his King with all that he had. It was a story Seungcheol already knew by heart by then, having already heard that story ever since he could remember. But he was never tired of it: of the lull of his father's voice as he told his tale and of the knight who would accompany him to his dreams, where he would take on many quests with the knight by his side. It was one of his most precious childhood memories, to hear his father tell the tale he loved so much.

But that night had been different. That night his father had paused in the middle of his story - when the knight slew the great dragon that has been terrorizing the kingdom, Seungcheol's favorite part - and told him: "Son, I have a task for you."

Seungcheol, who had nearly drifted to sleep, stood to attention then. What could his father need of him, so close to his departure to the front lines? Seungcheol gazed at his father in curiosity as the man unclasped something from around his neck.

"This, Seungcheol," he told Seungcheol, clasping the amulet onto the boy's waiting palm, "is the pride of our family. Within it is the legacy of dozens of generations; the legacy of my father, his father, and the ancestors before him. I want you to keep it safe, for it is now yours to keep."

Seungcheol stared at the amulet in his hands in awe and wonder. It was a tooth, seeming too big for his child-sized hands. The piece of ivory was embedded with diamonds that reflected the candle lights and hanging from a golden chain. It was the most beautiful thing Seungcheol had ever seen in his young life and he had it in his hands. He had traced each indent, the dulled edge of the tooth, to the cool gold glinting as the candle's flame flickers in the wind. He could imagine the history behind the artefact, the battles it had seen and the knights that it had accompanied. Seungcheol could see that it was kept in peak condition despite the obvious showings of wear and tear. His father's amulet is truly a marvel to look at.

'Mine', he had thought, 'It's mine now.'

"What is this father?"

His father leaned in close and squeezed Seungcheol's hands together. "This is a Drakeslayer, Seungcheol. Hold onto it tight, for it'll give you the strength you would need to slay even the mightiest of dragons."

"Like the knight in your stories?"

HIs father smiled then, his grave demeanor ebbing away like the ocean waves, and Seungcheol would remember the smile for the rest of his life. "Yes, son, like the knight in our stories."

He had said something else, then, but the memories of the rest of the night was drowned out by the memories of the next morning, him and his mother waving his goodbyes as his father galloped away like the regal knight he was, and the memories of one week later when all was bleak and dreary and grey and the only thing he could think about was, 'Father is dead.'

But they were mere memories of the past, Seungcheol have grown up from the lost child, grieving over the death of his father, to a knighted man serving his King with honor and bringing pride to his family line. He still held the Drakeslayer close, wore it around his neck every chance he could, because it was both a memory of his father and a weapon. A weapon meant to bring down the savage titans known as dragons.

It was Seungcheol's duty, to his father, his King, his people, to slay such titans and bring peace to the Kingdom of Nora.

That was why he had accepted his latest quest with neither hesitation in his heart or his mind: to slay the dragon that has been terrorizing the neighboring kingdoms as of late. He was sure it was for this reason the Drakeslayer was given to him.

He was in the throne room, kneeling in front of his King and awaiting his final orders. A gaggle of people had come as audience, surrounding themselves around the red carpet that lead from the throne to the heavy wooden doors. His King sat, regal and refined, atop his marble throne.

"We have no other choice," his King said, sad gentle eyes afixed onto Seungcheol, "I loathe to send you out there, but this threat must be exterminated.”

His Radiance the King was a beautiful man with a gentle disposition. He was kind, just and wise like the Kings before him. But to Seungcheol he was just Junghan, as human as he despite the ethereal quality of the man's looks. Junghan was Seungcheol's oldest friend and most precious lifelong charge. Though Seungcheol loathed the distance between them after Seungcheol became a knight, he wouldn't have chosen any other profession because being a knight meant protecting his Junghan.

Junghan rose one hand to beacon the rest of Seungcheol's party to come forward. They were to go as a party of four: Seungcheol the Knight, Jihoon the Magician, Jisoo the Cleric, and Chan the Assassin. Seungcheol was happy to be going with people he knew and was fond of, and the party was perfectly balanced to make sure each other's weaknesses were protected. Junghan smiled at each of them, but his smile lingered at Jisoo in particular. Seungcheol wasn't inattentive enough to have missed that and bit back his frown.

"My brave warriors, as the Holy King of Nora, I give you my blessings and send you off with my prayers. May you succeed in your quest and come home safe and sound."

They saluted once more and the attending audience cheered once before the whole congengration is dissolved. The four lingered, awaiting the words they knew the King would like to say to them in private. It wasn’t until the last of the advisors left did Junghan finally rise from his throne.

“My friends,” said Junghan, “How I wish I didn’t have to send any of you.”

Jihoon only bowed his head. “There’s no other choice, Junghan. The dragon wards won’t work against the more powerful ones. They know the difference between a dragon and a human wearing a dragon’s hide.”

Chan remained quiet, playing with his daggers and trying not to be sad at the farewells.

“We’ll all come back safe and sound,” Jisoo piped up, smiling serenely, “if The Lord permits it. And I doubt The Lord would reject your prayers, oh Holy King.”

Junghan ce to playfully smack Jisoo on the shoulder. A gesture that made the taller of the two smile and for Seungcheol to bite back another frown. It was no secret that Jisoo was Junghan’s favorite, and it made Seungcheol seethe with jealousy.

“Be careful out there, especially you Seungcheol. Our Good Lord knows how hard you push yourself,” Junghan said, frowning at Seungcheol.

Seungcheol, who was just happy with the attention, grinned and stepped up to pat Junghan on the back. “You can count on me, Hannie.”

Junghan smiled and Seungcheol felt at ease once more. Junghan’s smiles were like the sun to him, radiant and warm and always, always going to be there. For him. Just like how he would always be there for Junghan, his smiles meant that Junghan would always be there for him too.

“You know I hate that nickname.”

It’s reprimanding but affectionate, and they all shared one last laugh before the bell rang, the signal for them to leave. Exchanging some last farewells (and Chan finally getting the chance to hug Junghan goodbye) the four walked towards the stables, where there horses were surely waiting. Seungcheol chanced a glance back at Junghan before he was pulled by the ear by an irate Jihoon.

“Come on, lover boy. We don’t have time.”

Jihoon’s tone was joking but his grip wasn’t. Seungcheol twisted himself upright and smiled, sheepish, “Sorry, sorry, can you let go now? Please?”

Jihoon relented, but not without an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Your pining is so atrociously obvious I’m surprised you haven’t been arrested for public indecency.”

“You don’t mean that,” said Seungcheol, smiling.

“I do. To the very bottom of my heart, I meant every word I said.”

Seungcheol stared at Jihoon and laughed when he saw the smile threatening to spill across the shorter man’s face. They were best friends, but there was no lack of vitriol on Jihoon’s side. Seungcheol didn’t mind the often blunt Jihoon – it was just Jihoon’s way of expressing friendship.

The laughter died down after a while, letting the pit-pat of their footsteps fill the silence. Chan and Jisoo had long since gone ahead of them. Their forms disappearing into the endless halls of the Nora’s grand castle. It was then, when the silence was thick between them, that Jihoon spoke again.

“How are you?” Jihoon asked, voice no louder than a murmur, “Are you ready?”

Seungcheol scratched the back of his neck. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

“You know you don’t have to be the one to do this, right?”

“I know, but I have to. It’s my Drakeslayer, my father would’ve wanted this.”

Jihoon shook his head. “Death seeker.”

“Takes one to know one, Ji.”

With one last shared laughter they raced towards Chan and Jisoo, who had been waiting for the two of them to catch up to them by the courtyard door. Jisoo caught Seungcheol’s eye and smiled, taking his hand and pulling him forward to where their horses were waiting. “What took you both so long?”

Seungcheol shrugged, pulling his hand from Jisoo’s. “Just catching up with things. We haven’t seen each other since Jihoon’s dispatchment to the northern border after all.”

Jisoo’s smile faltered minutely, but perked back up with a rather strained, “I see.” Seungcheol made no mention that he noticed and Jisoo made no acknowledgment to it, instead focusing his attention upon his horse: a gentle-hearted beast with brown fur and black mane. It whinnied at the attention as Seungcheol turned to his own horse.

His own horse was a grey number with a powerful stride and a daunting presence. It had also been a pain for Seungcheol to tame and train, but the outcome was worth every blood, sweat, and tears. It’s a loyal steed that had been with Seungcheol through many quests and missions. Though Seungcheol loathed to give it a name (horses were like soldiers, they can die at any time) it was Seungcheol’s precious favorite.

“Come, men,” Seungcheol said, saddling up atop his steed, “We ride to victory!”

A chorus of cries accompanied them as they rode off to their quest, thundering hooves and deafening cheers escorting them out of the grand capital of their great kingdom. Once out of the capital, they rode eastwards, towards the southeastern border of the kingdom, where the dragon’s lair was said to be.

“It resides in one of our old forts,” Seungcheol remembered Jihoon saying, “It should take around four to five days by horse, with breaks and sleep time accounted for, of course. Best be prepared for a long one, gentlemen.”

Seungcheol couldn’t complain about the journey’s length. If they slew the dragon quickly they could be back in the capital in less than two weeks. He’d been on quests that lasted for months, bringing him away from the capital and missing Junghan and his friends terribly. He cast a glance to Jihoon, and the shorter man nodded as he lead the party onwards to their quest.

Their journey wasn’t terribly exciting. Save from a random bandit attack during day three of their journey, there wasn’t much going on. But it gave them time to hone the edge of their weapons, finalize battle plans, and for Seungcheol to steel his resolve. He was going to be the one to slay the dragon, he had to. It was his Drakeslayer. All he had to do was plunge it into the dragon’s flesh and it would be dead within minutes. Seungcheol could do this.

“Hey, Cheol, watch where you’re going!”

Jihoon’s yell startled Seungcheol out of his daze and he swerved in time to avoid colliding Chan who was in front of him. Jisoo giggled from behind him, his own horse galloping at a slower pace than the rest of the four.

“Don’t daydream while you’re riding,” Jihoon said, striding up beside him, “If you get yourself or anyone hurt before we get to the actual battle, I’ll kill you myself.”

Seungcheol rolled his eyes. “Yes, sorry, mother.”

Seungcheol’s jibe was, as per usual, not taken very well. Jihoon waved his thick and heavy grimoire slowly and menacingly, scowling throughout the whole action, and Seungcheol knew right then to wise up and shut up.

"Guys, I think I see a tower."

Chan's exclamation was a welcome reprieve from Jihoon's unrelenting glare. Seungcheol turned to look at where Chan was pointing and was met with a sight he didn’t quite expect.

“Wow.”

Seungcheol himself has never seen the old fort at the northeastern border. It’s too far away from his usual post at the southern border, but he’s heard tales of it. How eerie it looked. But instead, all Seungcheol saw was a peaceful refuge away from the bustling towns.

The tower itself was overgrown with vines and greenery, flowers and leaves protruding from each crack, each crevice. The roof of the tower was half gone, due to what Seungcheol didn’t know, and peeking from it was a tree, fresh green leaves rustling in the warm spring wind. But Seungcheol wasn’t here to admire the scenery.

“If we can see the tower, that means the old fort is close,” Jihoon said, riding up in front of them.

Seungcheol signaled them all to stop; beyond this point it would be too dangerous for the horses to come with. What with the old fort being right next to a sheer clifface and being the lair of a great, ravenous dragon. There were too many risks they wouldn’t like to take with their only transport back home.

“Come on, we’re walking the rest of the way.”

They got off their horses and hid them inside the forest, tying them to trees so that they won’t run away. They left most of their supplies in a clever foliage reinforced with Jihoon’s magic, so no one would have the bright idea of trying to steal their things. Jihoon wasn’t Court Magician for nothing with his strong magic.

“Okay guys,” Jihoon called out, “You all remember the plan we discussed?”

“I do,” Jisoo said, smiling, “Distract the dragon while Seungcheol finds a way to get on the dragon and kill it, right?”

Chan shrugged, “It’s not that hard to remember.”

“Precisely. Now, I want you guys to remember that it’s imperative that we give Seungcheol as much cover as possible. He’s the one with the dragon-killing weapon, after all.”

Seungcheol nodded and smiled as they all started walking towards the fort. Confidence, he needed to be confident. It wouldn’t do to show his party members his weakness so close to the actual battle. Friends or not, a captain that’s quivering with his tail tucked between his legs would only decrease morale.

Thankfully, or not, the walk was short, and they’re soon faced with the entrance to the fort. Surprisingly enough, they didn’t have to search for the dragon as they initially thought. For the dragon was up on all fours, as if it was just waiting for them, and its eyes gleamed when it caught sight of their small party.

“I thought I heard humans.”

The dragon was a great hulking being with scales of the deepest crimson and wide leathery wings. It regarded the party with its bright golden eyes, wings tensed behind it as it took stock of the weapons the four carried. But it carried itself calmly, like a king upon his throne, and opened its mouth to speak.

“Humans,” the dragon rumbled, “Have you come for my prince?”

Prince? What was the dragon talking about?

“We haven’t come for a prince,” Jihoon stepped up, “We have come to slay you. For disturbing the peace of our neighboring kingdoms and threatening innocents.”

The dragon seemed puzzled at first, but that wasn’t until hefty, uproarious laughter left its mouth. The four of them could feel the earth vibrate with the creature’s mighty laugh, but it wasn’t enough to deter them from their mission. The dragon relaxed its stance, at ease as its tail curled up to its side.

“Pitiful humans, you cannot hope to kill beings such as we.”

“We can,” Seungcheol found himself saying, stepping in front of Jihoon, “And we won’t just hope – we will kill you.”

The dragon turned to observe Seungcheol, Seungcheol’s eyes meeting the dragon’s molten gold eyes. They stared at one another for a long moment, before the dragon seemed to suddenly turn violent and spread its wings with a roar. A tail came to swipe at Seungcheol, but he rolled away in time to avoid the blow.

“Foolish humans!”

The dragon took to the sky. Creating as much aerial distance as it could between Seungcheol’s party and it. But that’s what Chan and Jihoon are for, as they readied their weapons. Jisoo watched the dragon in apprehension, already casting wards over the party in a quiet murmur.

Seungcheol drew his sword out and pointed it skyward.

“To victory!”

“Victory!”

Jihoon wasted no time casting as many spells as possible, his grimoire glowing with the magical energy it was exuding. Chan immediately peppered the dragon with his arrows, sharp enough to pierce through thick hide and laced thick with poison. Seungcheol took stock of the situation as he stood next to Jisoo, who was focusing on the well-being of his friends more than the battle itself.

It occurred to Seungcheol that they had to find a way for the dragon to get back to the ground. He shouted for Jihoon to try a meteor attack, of which Jihoon was quick to cast. A few of his meteors hit the dragon square on its back, but it seemed that the dragon caught on to his tricks and avoided the next barrage with startling agility.

"How dare you humans," the dragon bellowed, "try to kill the great and powerful Drarr’ahk!"

A powerful pillar of fire spew out from the earth and hit the dragon on its stomach. The dragon roared away in pain and Seungcheol caught the sight of Chan moving to hide in the shadows with his bow and arrow. Jisoo was starting to breathe more heavily, chanting warding spells to prevent as much damage as possible.

The dragon answered to the attack, blasting its own fire from its mouth and barely missing the hiding Chan. Jisoo was the first to rush over and check for injuries, so Seungcheol regrouped with Jihoon to come up with a more solid battle plan.

“Ji, how are we going to kill this thing?”

“We need to get you up there, that’s for sure,” Jihoon said, slightly out of breath, “I think we can distract the thing while you climb up the old fort and jump out from a window—”

An ear-piercing roar distracted them from their discussion, and they turned to see that Chan had managed to successfully embed a few arrows into its flesh—likely laced with a poisonous irritant that would instantly kill normal humans. The dragon scratched the arrows off and maneuvered out of the bevy of Chan’s next attacks. It decided to move away from the thick forests that provided Chan with cover, opting instead to soar over the deep gorge right beside the old fort.

“—.”

was right. The dragon forced Chan out of his hiding place, putting him in a vulnerable position as Jisoo worked double-time to provide him with as much support as possible. He could see that the two were starting to get fatigued and Seungcheol knew they needed to kill the dragon quickly.

“Use your wind magic to propel me up.”

Jihoon stared at him with hysteric eyes. “Are you nuts? Have you forgotten that there’s a cliff? And you propose that I propel you off that cliff and to your doom?”

Jihoon was right, the deep gorge proved to be an obstacle. For one, Seungcheol would certainly die if he fell. And in the chance that he succeeded, there was no way he could avoid falling into the gorge anyhow. Seungcheol knew right then that he was most likely going to die.

“We’re just going to have to deal, Ji.”

Jihoon turned to cast a stare towards him, but even he knew there was no other choice. With a muttered “Death seeker” he nodded in assent and began positioning himself in the shadows so the dragon wouldn’t catch on to their plan.

Seungcheol looked from Jihoon to the dragon soaring in the sky. He was most likely going to die, but hell if he wasn’t taking the beast down with him.

“Be careful!”

Jihoon’s words rung in his ears as Seungcheol got into position.

Chan and Jisoo were both occupied with distracting the monstrous beast. Jisoo covering for Chan with healing spells and protection wards while Chan released barrage after barrage of projectiles in quick succession, most of which the deft dragon avoided. He had to make the jump quickly before the dragon retreated further over the air.

“Get ready, Cheol!”

Seungcheol gripped the Drakeslayer and brought it to his mouth in a kiss. Adrenaline pumping in his veins, Seungcheol barely heard Jihoon shout “Now!” as he sped off and let the wind carry him into the air. The torrential gusts propelled him high and higher and higher up still until, finally, he was falling. With the dragon so close within his reach, Seungcheol propelled himself in the air so he could land between the dragon’s wings.

“What?!”

“Seungcheol?!”

Seungcheol felt rather than heard the dragon’s roar, vibrating from his toes to the tips of his hair. He heard Chan and Jisoo shout his name, but it was drowned out by the wind roaring in his ears.

The dragon thrashed and twisted in the air, but Seungcheol hung on to its wings, knuckles white from exertion. It was then that the dragon hurled itself onto the tower and Seungcheol screamed. A sharp jagged rock managed to pierce him through his armor, warm blood gushed out of the wound like a fountain.

But Seungcheol wasn’t about to let his wound get the better of him. With a twist and a cry of pain, Seungcheol tore the Drakeslayer from around his neck and plunged it, as deep as it would go, into the dragon’s flesh.

“No!”

“Seungcheol!”

Seungcheol didn’t remember much of the sequence of events after the : there was pain and he was falling. And falling. And falling. Or perhaps he was falling first before he felt the pain. And perhaps he remembered Jisoo shouting his name, but perhaps he didn’t. All he knew of the events following the slaying of the dragon was a large void of emptiness that stretched out over the expanse of his mind. Right beside the feeling of pain, pain, pain.

…

“Ah—”

Seungcheol gasped, choking on air as he forced his eyes open. Where was he? What happened? He made to sit up but the searing pain jolting through his torso brought him back to reality.

How did he survive the fall?

Seungcheol turned his head with all the energy he could muster and saw the body of the dragon right next to his. Did its body break his fall? But more importantly, where was everyone else? Where was Jihoon? Chan? Jisoo?

And yet it didn’t matter. None of it mattered.

He slew the dragon. He may not know what became of his father’s legacy, but he slew the dragon.

Seungcheol hissed, a steady stream of blood falling from the deep gash on his side even as he lay still on the ground to gather his bearings and just breathe. The dragon is slain – thank Lord Almighty – as evident in the unmoving body next to his, but the consequences found him heavily wounded and separated from his companions. It occurred to Seungcheol that he was going to die there – all alone, bleeding out of his armor, beside the carcass of a great dragon.

But at least Junghan, and his kingdom, was safe.

That was enough.

And so, with a puff of breath, Seungcheol closed his eyes to let the sweet darkness whisk him away.

A/N: I'm still not quite satisfied with this chapter, but I don't think y'all know how long I've spent writing this damnable chapter and I want to move on already to the other chapters. I'll definitely edit this chapter in the future, but not now. I'm very, very sick of it right now.