The Butcher of Sargon (LoL x Arknight Fanfiction)

The lights at the banquet were dazzling.

For a crocodile man who grew up in the rainforest, such a scene was unimaginable. 

Life there was all about working from sunrise to sunset, and even when electric lights were installed later, they were all purchased from the city by Inam.

But in this dream, it was different. 

He was an Adakrys living in the city, who had known a Vouivre girl named Saria since childhood. 

They played and grew up together, eventually both getting accepted into Trimounts Institute of Technology.

'So in Saria's imagination, I'm the kind of genius who could easily get into Trimounts, a top university in Columbia, just by putting in a little effort?'

Garde felt like an outsider, standing out of place in the banquet. 

He couldn't let himself get lost in this illusory dream, nor would his ascension power allow it.

Yet, when he saw Saria walking towards him in a black gown, something in his heart stirred.

Because she was truly beautiful.

It was hard to imagine what Saria would look like in a gown. 

Garde had always thought if she attended a banquet, she'd probably wear a suit instead.

Despite frequently being out in the sun, Saria's skin was flawless and fair, as if she had never been touched by the sun. 

Her white hair, carefully styled, flowed down her back, and her black halter dress fell to the ground, perfectly accentuating her waistline.

Her dragon-like, fiery red tail swayed restlessly, revealing her inner turmoil. 

As she stood before Garde, the scene of them was like beauty and the beast.

She extended her hand towards Garde and asked, "Mr. Garde, may I invite you to dance with me?"

Garde found it absurd.

Whose dream was this? Mine or Saria's?

His thoughts wandered to Gavial, far away in the rainforest, and Laurentia, whose whereabouts were unknown.

He wanted to say, "Saria, it's time to wake up."

But Saria took his hand and asked, "....Can't we at least dance?"

At that moment, Garde understood that now, Saria was fully aware that this is a dream. 

At least, right now, she was more lucid than anyone else. 

She wasn't lost in the dream. 

She just wanted to do some things she wouldn't normally do, even if it was just a dream.

If someone had stood up for her when she was bullied as a child, if someone had helped fix her broken toy car, if someone had been there for her when she needed comfort—would the future have been a bit different?

Garde couldn't know what Saria saw in her nightmares, but he could grant this small request.

"Of course," he said.

Garde took Saria's hand. 

Despite his much larger size, Saria, being quite tall for a woman, could keep up with his steps.

"Garde, I always thought you couldn't dance," Saria teased. "Or that you only knew those strange tribal dances."

Garde wasn't surprised by her assumptions. 

After all, he really couldn't dance anything too complex, and his muscular build often made women shy away. 

It was impressive that Saria could match his steps so well.

"I'm just fond of reading," he said.

Listening to this excuse that even he didn't believe, Saria didn't get angry. 

Only in moments like these could she find peace, free from the thoughts of Rhine Lab, the memories of her comrades, and the uncertainty of the future.

Letting go of all her burdens and learning to rely on others—maybe that wasn't so bad.

"Is this enough?" Garde's voice echoed in her ears. "We need to wake up."

Saria tightened her grip on Garde's back, recalling the horrors she had witnessed in her dream.

Everyone would die!

She didn't want to face those nightmare scenes. 

She was tired of struggling and fighting. 

If no one stood before her, she would have to lift her shield because, other than her, there was no one to protect Rhine Lab.

But even she wanted someone to stand beside her, to stand in front of her when she was desperate and helpless.

'You're not alone!'

She longed for someone to say that to her.

"Because you are Saria!"

Saria's steps faltered, but Garde's did not.

The dance wasn't over.

"You must wake up!" Garde commanded, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Rhine Lab needs you. Your comrades need you. Many people are waiting for you to return."

The banquet setting began to dissolve, the faces of the surrounding guests growing blurry, leaving only a few figures standing clearly in the distance—those were the people Saria truly knew.

Even in a dream, it was impossible to project something that didn't exist.

In this dream, everything Saria saw and experienced was real.

The only difference was Garde's presence.

Like clinging to a lifeline in despair, Saria leaned against Garde, her voice gradually regaining its usual sternness and coldness.

"Even if the version of me that likes you disappears?"

In the dream, she had poured all her emotions into this crocodile man. 

Here, she was free of worries and could be an ordinary girl, attending a banquet instead of going to a gym, wearing a beautiful dress instead of a combat suit, and inviting the one she liked to dance instead of going on a deadly mission.

But if she woke up, she would have to face reality. 

In the real world, the crocodile man wasn't her entire world, because he hadn't lived her life, with her friends, her career, and all the things that tied her down.

"Yes, even if the version of you that likes me disappears!"

Saria heard Garde's reply—without hesitation, without attachment, which made her wonder if she had any charm at all, or if the crocodile man just didn't care about her.

The dream began to shatter, the surroundings filled with strange, swirling colors. 

Saria knew she was about to wake up. 

From the moment she started dancing with Garde, she knew she would wake up.

But she still wanted to wait a little longer.

"Garde, do you—"

She wanted to ask if Garde ever liked her. 

She wanted to ask who those two girls Garde wanted to marry were. 

She wanted to ask if Garde would be willing to dance with her again someday.

But before she could, the dream shattered, and Garde disappeared.

Saria opened her eyes and found herself lying on sand.

But this time, it wasn't a dream.

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Tn: Some of you probably felt that Saria fall for Garde a bit too fast, but we are seeing things from Garde perspective, which are only about a few minutes at most, but for Saria, she lived a second life inside that dream, from her point of view, tens of years or more probably has gone by before she realized that it's a dream.

From our PoV, her feeling suddenly goes from 10 to 100 in an instant, but from her, it's goes from 10 to 100 in the span of tens of years, going with her seeing him as a stranger, acquintance, friend, close friend, and then her crush.

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