Ep 105. An Even Worse Monster. (3)
Minutes after the wooden doll was rendered lifeless, Serenis resumed her flight towards the palace as soon as her mana resumed their proper functioning. Although Raizel was more than capable, the dragonlord couldn’t discard the worries weighing her mind.
After soaring over the ramparts, Serenis soon arrived at the courtyard where the steel dragon was minutes prior. However, the surrounding scenery was nothing like what Raizel had seen upon arrival.
“…What is this?”
Numerous towers and walls surrounding the palace were in collapsed rubbles, coated in streaks of blood. The courtyard itself was filled with dead soldiers, and at the centre lied two peculiar structures.
‘Metal?’
Two metallic domes, each large enough to fit a person inside, lied before the dragonlord. They were unmistakably some form of magic, likely cast here by Raizel – but even Serenis couldn’t discern the purpose of the peculiar spell.
‘Has she trapped the emperor inside? But if that were the case, why the second?’
Although Serenis initially stretched out her hand to undo the domes, she was quick to discard the idea.
She could sense Raizel not too far into the palace’s interior. Whatever these were, she needed but ask the youngling directly.
“…I do hope it’s nothing of concern.”
With that final thought, Serenis’ gaze drifted over to one of the collapsed walls surrounding the courtyard. A single path was seemingly blown open as if someone had forced their way into the palace interior, revealing an enormous hallway inside.
Summoning her wings, the dragonlord quickly made her way through the open path, chasing after Raizel’s presence.
After having to use a spell to replicate her wings for so long, it was rather satisfying to have reclaimed her physical wings.
✧ ✧ ✧
Meanwhile, inside the palace…
“Telberk! His majesty should be headed towards Telberk!”
“Where the hell is that?”
“Pardon?...”
“Where the hell is that.”
“Um…uh…”
Crunch.
The remaining soldiers flinched in unison as the stammering soldier’s head was torn off their body. The unlucky few that had been too slow to escape or hesitant to leave their post were now reliant on an angered dragon’s mercy.
A bloodthirsty gaze fell on those that still stood.
“Weird. Just a while ago you’re coming at me with weapons in hand, now you’re all scared?”
“…”
When no answer came back, Raizel nonchalantly grabbed another soldier by their throat, pulling them out of the lined troops.
“Fine, back to the question then. Where’s this Telberk place?”
“T, Telberk is a keep located northwest from here. It’s the largest keep situated before the mountains that border Asarda. You can’t miss it!”
“What’s your emperor even doing there?”
“That’s…well…”
When the soldier felt the iron grip tightening around his neck, he hurriedly continued his answer.
“A, Asarda’s campaign! His majesty should be making preparations for our next campaign on Asarda!”
“Campaign?”
“If the empire succeeds in conquering Asarda, all of Astellion falls in our hands. His majesty has gone to see to the campaign’s success…”
“Pft. Don’t you guys ever get tired of fighting? Seriously.”
It wasn’t exactly a question Raizel should’ve been asking, but the youngling failed to see the hypocrisy in her statement.
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And while the steel dragon contemplated on what to do next, a welcomed guest arrived at the corridor they were at.
“Raizel! Are you here?!”
“Oh hey, you’re here. Finally.”
Fortunately, the steel dragon didn’t seem hurt in the slightest – the few streaks of blood on her clearly weren’t her own. But contrary to the dragonlord’s worried expression, Raizel casually wove her hand, wearing a bright smile on her face.
“You’re pretty late, lord. Thought you’d be along. You’re…not angry at me, are you?”
“Of course not. I was attacked on the way, that’s all. I was being foolish…”
“Huh? You were attacked? You look fine to me.”
When Raizel finally gave Serenis another good scan, the youngling began to notice a strange air of difference in her lord. Although the dragonlord’s appearance seemed to be the same, something about them seemed to have changed.
“You look…lighter? Or am I seeing things?”
“No, you’re correct. I no longer require a spell to keep this appearance in place. It seems you’re instinctively sensing that difference.”
“Huh? So that’s what you actually look like? What happened to the little runt from before?”
“…That was…quite some time ago, child.”
“Really? Didn’t feel that long.”
Finally, the dragonlord’s gaze shifted over from Raizel towards the row of soldiers lined up before them. Bloodied carpets were beneath their feet; one lied dead on the ground, another closing in on death within the steel dragon’s grasp.
“Raizel. This is…?”
“Oh. Uh…”
Raizel hurriedly let go of the soldier in her hand, letting him retreat to the ranks of his friends. After a momentary stutter, Raizel began her lengthy explanation.
“So, this is…you know…”
✧ ✧ ✧
Minutes passed as Raizel explained the events that had transpired in the dragonlord’s absence.
Once the youngling was finished with her story, Serenis pondered over the odd coincidence of the emperor’s whereabouts.
“The emperor is in…Telberk?”
“Yep. You know where it is?”
“Not its precise location, but…”
‘It’s the same location that the doll mentioned. Is it mere coincidence? Or…’
Serenis shook her head. What her assailant had said to her no longer mattered – her objectives had always been to find the star deity’s whereabouts through the emperor, as well as the origins of Kelador’s shell.
Of course, neither objective necessitated the Akeian emperor’s presence; any high-ranking member of the empire may have possessed sufficient knowledge to answer the dragonlord’s questions. But…
“This is the royal palace, is it not? Were there no other that seemed to be of higher status?”
“Meh, all I saw were soldiers. There was this one mage who seemed pretty important, but…”
“But?”
“…I killed him.”
Although Serenis momentarily frowned at the answer, her expression soon loosened when she saw the evident guilt in the youngling’s eyes. Even considering Raizel’s aggressiveness, the dragonlord knew by now that the steel dragon wasn’t one to ignore pleas without reason – at least not her’s.
“That’s rather unfortunate. I suppose they were swept away amidst the soldiers then.”
“…He crossed the line first.”
“? Crossed the line? Did he do something to you?”
“My parents. He was toying with them.”
“…Your parents? But weren’t they…”
“…”
Serenis’ expression immediately contorted, but Raizel failed to see it as she dropped her gaze to the floor below.
Flooded with both anger and embarrassment alike, the steel dragon then shot a glare towards the soldiers before her. She couldn’t bear the thought of others seeing her vulnerable in any way.
After saying ‘you’d-all-be-dead-if-she-wasn’t-here’ with her eyes, she threw her arm to the side, screaming at their faces.
“What’re you all looking at?! Piss of!”
It didn’t take long for the disarrayed soldiers to begin fleeing the corridor. They hurriedly turned towards the stairs, where they’d be able to eventually reach the ground floor to escape the palace.
But before even a single one could escape into the path leading downwards, Serenis flicked her hand, closing the way off with a wall of fire. The flames circled then around the lot, caging them in a burning prison.
After trapping the soldiers in place, Serenis returned her attention to Raizel.
“Why are you sending them away, child? Did you not say they attacked you?”
“Well, they did, but…I can’t just kill them.”
“You can’t? How come?”
“You like humans. Things would be different if I was alone, but with you here, it’s a bit…”
“I like humans? What is it that made you think so?”
“What do you mean? Everywhere we go, you do stuff in their favor. Back in Partivine, you even made ME work for humans.”
“But those people didn’t wield their weapons at you.”
“…”
Serenis beamed an apologetic smile towards the silent dragon before her. She appreciated that Raizel was being considerate of her, but even more so, she didn’t want the youngling to think that their lord valued humans above her own kin.
Indeed, even if the empire’s soldiers had belonged to demonkind, defiling her passed kin in front of their child was far, far beyond what she could condone.
“Tell me, child. What is it that you wish of those men?”
“Uh…dead?”
“So be it then. Though, let’s not taint your hands any further.”
“Huh?”
Before Raizel could even ask what Serenis had meant, the dragonlord once again nonchalantly flicked her hand.
The flaming circle trapping the soldiers within exploded inwards, engulfing their bodies in heated flames. Silent screams accompanied the blinding torrent of fire.
And when the blaze had died down, only bits of charred dust remained on the blackened corridor.
Raizel stood in daze, shocked by her lord’s sudden spell. And in return, Serenis merely grinned back, caressing the youngling on her head.
“You’re right, Raizel. From past to present, I’ve always been fond of humans. So much that I was wed with one.”
“Then…why did you…?”
“…But to tell you the truth, I regret those days. For I’ve valued them far too much, losing sight of what I had truly held dear.”
“…”
After a short sigh, Serenis retreated her hand from Raizel’s head.
She emptily stared into the burnt corridor. There had been at least a few dozen soldiers there – now, there was none.
If Eden had been here in Raizel’s place, no doubt those soldiers would’ve been allowed to flee. For that’s what Eden herself would’ve wished for.
And yet, Serenis couldn’t feel even a hint of remorse for killing them. Unlike her daughter, the dragonlord was nowhere near as forgiving towards those that would dare attack her kin and toy with their dead parents – whether it be humans, demons, or even a divine entity.
That’s how it always should’ve been.
‘So forgive me just this once, Eden. Even if you’d be disappointed in me…’
“…I never wish to make that mistake again.”
After a long pause. Serenis raised her gaze unto the ceiling. Despite Raizel bringing numerous sections of the palace to a collapse, its tallest, most fortified tower was still standing above their heads.
And likewise above their heads were an all-too-familiar presence, hidden behind a series of floors above them.