Chapter 32
Dragonslayer
The collective’s constant chattering has all but chased me out of the palace. I spend most of my time cloistered in my workshop, cut from the outside by the anti-magic material. It would be a lot like my earlier day in the city if I did not resent it so much.
The cause of my torment is one insufferable small cleric who purchased his prolonged existence with betrayal. Today again, I come to beg for his relocation – or better yet, his execution.
“General, I would like to...”
“I know, you’ve brought it up enough time, but I’m sorry, the answer is still no.”
“What use is there in keeping him here? Nothing he has to say matters! Let us kill him, burn the Kingdom to the ground, and go home.” My thoughts are all over the place and abnormally belligerent, which goes to show how much influence the collective has over me.
“As soon as we attempted to move him to a safe-house, a bunch of assassins came after him.”
Incompetent fools, you really cannot trust the kingdom to do anything right! But it gives me an idea. “Let me help with his relocation.”
“I’m not sure about letting both of you meet.”
Yes, I would not be either, I feel like I would probably tear his throat if I saw him right now.
“We are considering our response…”
I stop him there. “Talking while sitting on your ass all day for a week does not count as a response, it is the very definition of procrastination!”
“You are unusually passionate, sir.”
“I am not, the dead are, and they will never leave me alone as long as he lives. Right now, I am still in control, but I assure you, if you do not get rid of the reprobate soon, I will have to take matters into my own hands… or they will!”
The constant hammering is maddening, but the worst part is the way it resonates with my own insecurities to capitalize on my fears. What if the constant battling awakens the beast? What if it delays our supply? What if I do not have enough time to test the tool and it fails at the most critical time?
It is dangerous to give in to the lunatic’s attempts to delay us; we need to be decisive: we must bring an end to the war… since things are not going my way, I have no choice but to seclude myself in my workshop, away from the collective’s influence.
Even though I will be the first to admit my seclusion is not without benefits. For one, I have learned from the unsecured tool of destruction fiasco, and produced identification tools for every single restricted area… and seeing how many unwelcome guests they have stopped already, it was high time we did something.
I have also completed a few teleporters prototype. They are only good for moving small and light objects, like paper, and the calibration is a real pain, but I made it possible to select a target with a floating menu, and that means anyone can use them. Speaking of floating text, it is quite possibly the most ground-breaking discovery as it opens all sorts of tools to a wide audience, regardless of ability.
Unlike me, the master is the most cheerful he has ever been; the department is making more money than he had predicted and he escaped criticism by lying through his teeth and saying it was me and my best students who made all the first batch of unbreakable mana sources.
I stop my reminiscing to take yet another look at the dragon-slaying formula. There does not seem to be anything wrong with the spell, but if I were really that confident in my own judgment, I would not be so anxious. My biggest worry is probably the inscription phase, it has always been a long spell, but the addition of multiple security measures leaves absolutely no room for mistakes.
Someone knocks and I instantly answer. “Please come in.” And the door opens to reveal a giant quartz. “What beauty!” I say, looking transfixed and the giant crystal.
“I understand the feeling, sir.” Says the master with a large smile. I failed to notice him, standing behind the two apprentices leading the floating platform.
“How heavy is it? It must be at least two-third of a ton.”
“It’s somewhat heavier than that, sir. The alchemist did a good job with this one and the other large crystals, they are the purest I have ever seen.”
“Now, we can finally initiate our plan to deal with the dragon/calamity.” We should probably use it right away, but I am too fearful of what would happen if it fails.
“It hurts that we’re dependent on the alchemists,” Says the master. “but I still don’t know what they are doing differently and they aren’t taking the bribe.”
His complaints take me by surprise. “You seemed so confident.”
“It seems like the bastards love their secrets even more than they love money. I hate that we’re being dependent on a third party. At least the deal is mutually beneficial, and we have a fallback plan… even if it is far from ideal.”
“How many crystals this size do we have?”
“This one is the biggest, but there are four more coming which are only slightly smaller, and the three dozen we prepared to fuel the spells.”
“What of the monitoring and recording tools?”
“No problem on that side, either. Everyone is perfectly trained! We can implement the plan whenever you want!”
<><><>
The collective prattle as usual, but I am in too good a mood to listen. Everything is ready: I only need a place and permission. At my request, the Queen and concerned people meet in a conference room – or is it a war room?
“Your Majesty, Dear ministers, General, I have asked you to come because I have finally created the dragon/calamity slaying enchant I have promised you... but, it needs testing, we know too little about to risk using it against the dragon right away. I propose we use the Kingdom’s capital, and specifically its greatest religious edifice as the target for this experiment.”
My idea is met with dubious looks. The prime minister is first to shoot down my proposal. “I know where you come from, my lord, but you are underestimating the lunacy of fanatics. It is very likely to drive them into righteous fury.”
Others have more mixed opinions. “I do not think it will bring peace, but there are only benefits in facing a disorganized enemy.” Says the royal guard captain.
“I am all for it,” boom the Knight-general “but why stop at one little church?”
The Queen also speaks words of concern. “We strongly doubt it will stop the war. In fact, we are certain they will hate us all the more for it.” But then she tilts her head and adds. “Then again, they see us as targets for annihilation, and we intend to forbid the practice of their religion so… unless someone as a better idea, we agree with this proposal.” As usual, there is no opposition.
Later that day, I teleport ahead to make a last survey of the area. We have long decided on a place – a tall hill barely ten kilometers away from the outer wall – but it pays to make sure the situation has not changed in the last few days.
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The hill being as barren and unoccupied as ever, I soon start bringing people and material under its shadow.
Half-a-dozen trips later, a small patrol of cavalrymen catch sight of us and attack without sending a warning or calling for reinforcement. I do not know whether their stupidity is a result of overconfidence or because of a lack of experience, but one thing is for sure: their death is speedier than their approach.
As their mounts’ legs break under the increased gravity and they all fall to their doom, a knight comment under his breath. “Untrained morons, couldn’t be bothered to raise the alarm first.”
“I do not mind them making my work easier… and it is not like it would have changed anything to the outcome.”
Even so, no matter how incompetent the Kingdom’s troops are, a missing patrol is bound to raise suspicion.
<><><>
Twenty knights, including three proficient with barriers. Ten mages manning the observation and recording tools and another fifty exclusively to supply mana, all transported by me and me alone. Our numbers are well over the estimate, but people are not machines, their condition varies by the day.
Why did we settle on this hill when we could have used spells to observe the situation from further? Because we do not know enough about the spell and it is better to have a direct line of sight in case it disrupts the normal use of magic.
Our target is the highest tower of the tallest church. I use farsight to get a good view and start the tool of destruction. Our target today is only made of stone, so after careful examination, we settled on a half charge.
Forty minutes later, a dark dot appears over the capital then suddenly expands. Unlike the preparation, the spell itself is very fast, not even a second in total. Faster than the eye can perceive, the layers of exclusion barriers protecting the subspace crumble one after the others and my vision spell cuts off.
All the barriers we raised around the site shatters, but not because of physical or magical damage, just like with farsight earlier, all magics in the surrounding area are rendered useless.
Knights and mages alike gasp as the walls crumble and small dots go flying far them – considering the distance, these dots are likely to be gigantic pieces of masonry, maybe entire buildings.
I tear my magically enhanced vision from the appalling spectacle to look at the records. Contrary to my assumption, the lack of mana caused the exclusion barriers to crumble.
The aftermath of the destruction is unimaginable: it pulverized everything within two hundred meters, there is not a single building left standing within four hundred, and traces of destruction can be seen beyond one kilometer.
This is horrifying, but not as much as knowing that this much is not even half of the full spell and might still not be enough to instantly kill and fully-grown dragon/calamity.
The last part of my mission is to teleport pre-recorded messages all over ground zero, all saying the same thing: ‘Make peace with the Queendom, or make peace with your god.’
As we get ready to return, the collective screams in horror.
“IT’S HERE!”
“GOD, PROTECT US FROM THE DEVIL!”
“GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN US!”
“FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!”
Why scream so long after that the destruction has ended? I have felt the voices’ fears and insecurities before, but never like that: the collective never fully agree on anything.
The answer comes in the form of a dot flying at high speed towards the capital… I get it now, ‘oh god, why have you forsaken us’ indeed!
“Run, the dragon/disaster is coming!”
I activate the enchant; I doubt it will give us the time, but it is the only thing I can think of. Visibly, the others are the same: every mage, every knight pour its mana knowing full well they will die.
Why? Because there is no way to run from that, it is too fast.
The giant creature flies over the city nonchalantly, burning people and building as it searches for… us.
Only three minutes have gone by? Forget about full charge, but what level is enough to hurt this thing? Quarter? Half? We will be lucky if we even get a few more minutes.
The monster sees us in the distance and heads slowly towards us, burning everything in its way at a leisurely pace. Damn monster, it is mocking us.
I am sorry my Queen; I have failed you… we should have targeted without waiting.
The beast is in range. It inhales slowly and deliberately but just as I am about to release the dragon-slaying spell; I feel the beast surprise and confusion then an instant later, something much more massive descends, crushing its neck like a raptor.
The new dragon makes the full-grown adults from the stories look like small fluffy woodland creatures.
“What an awful surprise, to think one of your species still lives. I hoped you had all perished... Oh! But you ARE dead.”
We are still alive and for some reason, it is talking directly in my head. “Hello, dragon/calamity, to my knowledge, never once did your kind talk to mine.”
“Why and how would such a thing happen? You killed us on sight, and I’d be doing the same if I could.” It spits the next words angrily. “As much as it pains me to deal with lesser beings, I come with an offer you cannot reject, one that benefits us both: leave me alone and I will kill the other dragons, attempt to harm me and I will lay waste upon this continent until not a single blade of grass stands. I assure you; I know this spell well and prepared for it: you won’t ever take me by surprise!”
I had forgotten I was still powering the enchant. I stop immediately and order others to do the same. As it said, even if it cannot harm me, it can still harm the Queendom.
“You would kill your own to ensure your survival?”
“I’d do it for sport, why wouldn’t I do it to ensure my survival?”
Its disgust towards me is strong, I can feel a deep-rooted hatred towards me and my species. “I really hoped this freshly born toy would escape our programming.”
“Programming?”
“Inhibition to prevent us from harming the Vault and its Guardians… even the undead ones, apparently. But you are an unusual one though, you care about those critters.” Its eyes become sharper. “Here is my proposition: I will protect this continent from the other dragons and leave your critters to their pathetic lives. In exchange, swear you will never target me directly or indirectly, and that you’ll never set foot on my continent. It is the one northeast from here, the biggest in the world. What do you say?”
I cannot trust it, but I do not see myself having a choice. What bothers me the most though is how nonchalant it was about hunting its own kind. “You hunt your own species for sport?”
“They are the best entertainment there is. This toy was too young to offer a challenge, but it knew nothing of your kind, and I wanted to see if it could harm you.”
“That is awful. How can you do that?”
“Mere mortals cannot understand our sense of value. We are immortal and asexual, other dragons are competitions or toys for our amusement, as everything should be.”
“I accept your proposal!”
“Before we conclude our agreement, let us talk a bit, Guardian. I have not spoken with anyone since our creators left this world.”
“You were created? What happened to them, did you kill them all?”
It laughs. “Foolish creature, if I cannot harm you, why would you assume I could harm them? Not that it matters, in this world they were absolute, even that spell of yours could not budge a hair on their face unless they willed it. And I didn’t say mine, I said OURS. “
What is this walking living catastrophe telling?! Wait a minute... “Ours?”
“I do not know why they created us; their actions never made any sense. Believe it or not, but I was a pet and your ancestors were nothing more than caretakers for their precious Vault. As a result, we were rendered unable to harm you directly or indirectly. But that wasn’t enough for those bastards, they had to go and give you this damn spell to protect yourselves.” It Chuckles. “But not from tidal waves.”
“Why did they leave?”
“How should I know? Why should I care? I only pay attention to what is enjoyable to me. I Kill time, critters, and sometimes my kin. It is too bad that only my own species offer decent competition, but since they take so much time to grow, I have to make do with whatever else I can find.” Its voices become even more menacing. “Do you agree with my terms? Or do you want me to burn more of this place?”
“I gave you my words.” I would not mind if it burned a little more, as long as it is this place.
“Words mean nothing! I do not trust you, and I would kill you here and now if I could. I want something truly compelling: I want an oath.”
“I know no such spell.”
“Then listen well and recite after me.”
It contains a few unknown words, but overall the content is straightforward enough that I can repeat it without fear.
Before going, the dragon/calamity gives me a final warning. “As promised, I will hunt the remaining lesser dragons and true dragons on this continent. But remember, if any of your people set foot on my continent, they will become my prey and my meal!”
“I will warn my people, but I can make no promises for other nations.” I suddenly realize what he just said. “There were more than one dragon/calamity around?”
It laughs. “Two more, but only this one was stupid enough to fail to notice me. You can go now, guardian, I have no more need for you. Let it be the last time we face each other!”
“How can there be young if...” It is already gone.
“What happened?” Ask a bewildered knight at my left.
“Why did it kill the other? Why did it go? Did you repulse it?”
Some are crying in joy, some are praising the Goddess, some are even praising me… but they shouldn’t, it was all dumb luck.
“Is the Queendom safe?”
“Did you not listen to our conversation?”
“No sir, we only heard your voice?”
“Indeed, sir, all this while, it stood still, staring silently at you.”
This is probably for the best. I can let her decide what to tell our people.