Ep 103. An Even Worse Monster. (1)
When Raizel had first taken off for the imperial palace, it wasn’t long until Serenis took flight after the youngling; despite the distance between them, it was only a few seconds difference considering their flight speed.
But before even a minute had passed in the air, Serenis caught a glint of light from beneath, within the hills the palace stood upon.
Soon, a large spear shot forth from below towards the dragonlord.
Of course, it wasn’t very difficult to block with a simple shielding spell; at first, Serenis thought of it as nothing more than a particularly observant sentry catching them in their flight. But when a dozen more were thrown at her from beneath, even the dragonlord was forced to look down at the steep hill below.
‘What are these spears? Where…’
When she lowered her gaze, a speck of black came to view, hiding amongst branches and leaves. An individual cloaked in black was holding yet another spear in hand, his stance fully prepared for another throw.
“Fall, Aymeia.”
A sinister voice resonated into the dragonlord’s soul, and a spear throw quickly followed it.
“…Aymeia?”
Although she questioned the voice, Serenis’ shielding spell remained unscathed, and the dragonlord expected this throw to be deflected like any other; a dozen other attacks had already proved futile against it.
And this was precisely why Serenis failed to recognize – that the deflected throws had clouded her judgment, preventing her from noticing the bronze-like glint of this spear’s head.
“…!”
Her spell was neither destroyed, nor pierced through. The shield she’d erected simply disappeared as if it had never been there to begin with, and the thrown weapon continued its trajectory to bury itself into Serenis’ shoulder.
The spells that had maintained her wings and appearance ceased their functioning, making the dragonlord fall out of the skies. Only a handful of snapping branches broke the fall to prevent a fatal outcome.
“Hff…”
Serenis suppressed a pained groan as she struggled to get back on her feet, gripping at her bleeding shoulder where the weapon was lodged. But before Serenis could even begin to recover, a series of rustling noises were soon followed by her assailant’s appearance.
A tattered, dusty cloak covered the entirety of his face and body; even his hands were wrapped in worn bandages, preventing even a single patch of skin from showing. Their echoing voice was the only distinguishing trait the assailant possessed.
“So I didn’t imagine it. What is that regressed appearance, Aymeia? Has your body finally begun breaking down after all these years?”
“…I am not Aymeia.”
“…”
The assailant returned no verbal reply to the pained answer Serenis croaked.
Instead, he gripped the spear buried into the dragonlord’s shoulder, ripping it out with a vicious noise as her spewing blood wet the dirt beneath. Serenis gasped in pain, gripping at the open wound.
The man then brought the bloodied speartip to the dragonlord’s neck, pressing it against her bare skin.
“Then that is all the more reason to extinguish your soul. This world has no need of such stained souls.”
“…”
Although the assailant’s nonsensical words were mildly concerning, a far more pressing concern occupied the dragonlord’s mind.
‘Kelador…your shell’s still a nuisance.’
As Serenis turned her attention away from her shoulder, the bloodied spear came to view, clearly of the make of her friend’s shell.
Ever since the peculiar weapon had wounded her, Serenis’ mana was failing to synthesize; even the smallest clump would dissipate before a proper spell could be formed. Her capacity in magic meant little when she couldn’t even form the simplest of spells.
If she’d been careful of it from the beginning, it may have been a trivial matter to subdue the individual before her – but with her biggest tool now robbed of her, there was little the dragonlord could do in her current body.
‘…Foolish. I, of all, should’ve known better.’
Considering how Raizel had flown straight towards the palace, there was no way the youngling would know the situation here – especially considering her hatred towards the empire. She may as well have been half-blind.
As Serenis wracked her head for a solution, her assailant was the first to break the silence.
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“…I suppose you really aren’t her. Your soul is far more vile. How sickening you are, sinner.”
“…Sinner?”
The man continued, ignoring the dragonlord’s response. He was merely muttering to himself.
“Your soul is not that of a man turned demon; no, rather, you possess both in coexistence. A treacherous balance, threatening to swallow the man within…”
Even if no one else could see it, he could. The soul lying before him was, in all aspects, a threat to the star.
“…Unworthy.”
Finally, the assailant slashed his spear sideways, cutting the dragonlord’s throat open.
Cut off in both voice and thought, Serenis’ body limply feel backwards. She sunk unto a tree behind her, unmoving.
The cloaked figure scoffed at the sight of the fatal wound that was inflicted upon the dragonlord. Soon, he stretched out his free hand into the air.
“Do not fear. After sufficient cleansing, you will-”
The assailant stopped himself midsentence.
When the dragon’s hand once again began to twitch despite her fatal injuries, he retreated his hand, fixing the grip on his spear. He warily poised for an incoming attack, preparing himself to retaliate.
But instead, Serenis merely brought one hand towards her wounds.
Pure, orange light radiated from her palm, rapidly closing her bleeding wounds.
Soon, she even began speaking to him again.
“…Threatening to swallow me, is it? You say the strangest things. She would never.”
“…?”
The cloaked figure remained still in a poised stance. Despite his initial thought of striking the dragonlord over and over again, he merely stood in place, unsure of who – or what – was speaking to him.
‘…Something’s changed.’
The overwhelming darkness of the dragonlord’s demonic soul had instantly yielded the moment it was struck, giving reign to the small light glowing from within – a tiny glimmer that unmistakably belonged to mankind.
What the assailant had perceived to be a soul held in captivity had suddenly prevailed under the life-threatening circumstance to save its demon captor.
“…You’re not of Nature’s creation. Who are you? WHAT are you?”
“A relic of the past.”
“…”
After her wounds closed, the dragonlord raised her gaze towards the assailant’s shadowed visage. Unlike her usual self, she was beaming a soft grin towards the figure while she spoke.
“She means no harm. I’ve no qualms allowing her to exist alongside myself. Is that not sufficient to permit her existence?”
“I cannot. What binds you is a demon’s soul. My duty is to cleanse you of it.”
“Even if I wish otherwise?”
“That is not for you to decide.”
“…Very well.”
The dragonlord raised herself unto her feet, taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes, if only for a moment.
A moment was all that was needed.
✧ ✧ ✧
‘Do you hear that, Serenis? We’re bound in both body and soul. Isn’t that interesting.’
No response.
Then again, it was merely a thought: a message thrown into the depths of an endless abyss.
Perhaps she’d hear it, perhaps she wouldn’t.
But at the very least, he could hope that she would.
‘Our death was not your fault. Even now, I wish you’d abandon this quest...’
Their conflict had ended in the previous era. Countless had died for its conclusion, including Serenis herself.
Yet, the dragonlord still persisted, continuing her daughter’s will after a millennium’s passing.
And if she wouldn’t do as he wished, then the least he could do was support the dragonlord’s wishes.
‘…May the stars forever shine upon your path.’
Once again, he would retreat into the depths of the dragonlord’s conscious – this time much further than before.
✧ ✧ ✧
When Serenis came to once more, she was on the ground, slouched against a tree. The fresh blood coating the grass around her clearly told that she hadn’t imagined the last fatal strike.
But when she rubbed her neck, she didn’t feel a single hint of pain – the wound had disappeared, as if it’d never been there. Her shoulder was likewise fully healed, even though she could clearly remember agonizing in pain from the open wound.
Unfortunately, not everything was so merry; her assailant was still standing before her.
After fixing his grip on his weapon, the cloaked figure thrust his spear forward at an unbelievable speed. With no time to dodge the attack, Serenis hurriedly put her hands forward, gripping the speartip to stop the weapon mere inches away.
But weirdly enough, the whole act was effortless now. Her hands felt fine holding the weapon’s blade; not a drop of blood could be seen, nor was she struggling to hold it in place.
Serenis narrowed her eyes. Her own hand seemed and felt alien, glimmering in a strange, familiar white color.
‘…Scales?’
Suddenly, Serenis could feel a loud thump in her heart.
The dragonlord’s body violently convulsed, her innards painfully twisting out of shape. Her thumping heart quickened as if it would burst at any moment, and her human body desperately resisted against the change being forced unto it.
Pure white scales began to form over the dragonlord’s hands that held the spear in place.
Alarmed, and equally confused as the dragonlord, the assailant attempted to withdraw his weapon – only to find it impossible to do so with Serenis gripping its tip. When the speartip completely shattered, the cloaked figure abandoned his weapon, cautiously retreating back a few steps.
“…”
Serenis had no attention to spare for her retreating assailant.
She heaved in ragged breaths, pure white scales beginning to encroach upon various parts of her exposed skin. A pair of sizeable wings newly sprouted on her back, along with a tail of the same color. The blue glint in her dishevelled hair had noticeably faded, and the small specks of black on her head had grown to a pair of large black horns.
It wasn’t that she’d fully regained her proper form as a dragon; but even so, the eyes that stared into the darkness of the assailant’s cloak were no longer that of a human’s. Instead, a long, sharp pupil extended across her blue iris.
It didn’t take long for the cloaked figure to alter his judgment of the woman before him.
“…A sinner’s soul that can forego its human origin at will. It seems you were never quite human to begin with. A marvel that such an abomination is able to exist.”
“…”
It wasn’t like Serenis particularly understood the situation any better.
As far as she was concerned, she’d suffered a fatal attack, only to return to her senses in a fully healed state. Her half-baked dragonkin body had then set her heart on an unconscious rampage, rapidly regressing the dragonlord to her original form.
But whatever the cause of this event was, she had no time to question it before the imminent threat.
After steeling herself for the second phase of their confrontation, Serenis glared into the shadow of the figure’s hood.
“…Call me what you would.”
She couldn’t bring herself to deny the man’s words. This whole venture was nothing more than a blind search for redemption.
‘…So I cannot rest. Not until this conflict sees its end.’
Though she’d somehow quickened her transformation into dragonkin, there was no telling whether her body would continue to tolerate the sudden change. No good would come out of prolonging things.
Serenis pulled back her arm, readying to engage. The newly grown scales and claws clearly attested to her inhuman birth.
‘…Serenis.’
A vague, distant voice seemed to mutter from the edges of her consciousness. But she could hardly afford to concentrate on it.
She couldn’t afford to discern if it was even real.