Ep 123. Do You Think Yourself Invincible? (1)
“Raizel…must you do that?”
“Do what?”
“That.”
Looking away in disgust, Karas pointed down at the bludgeoned mess Lavnore’s body had become.
Though, that did little to deter the steel dragon from continuing to trample upon his dead body.
“Relax. I’m just looking for that shard he had.”
“…Aren’t you just taking your stress out on him?”
“Wanna find out?”
“…No thank you.”
At the very least, Raizel actually knelt down at the professor’s questioning. Her hands waded through the bloody mess, plucking out the white gem from the emperor’s remains.
“There we go. Just gotta take it over.”
“…”
A wave of doubt washed over Karas.
Approaching the steel dragon, he then gently placed his hand over her back.
Raizel instantly jumped a little in response, groaning in a lot more pain than what a gentle touch would normally incur. Now that the threat was gone, her wounds were beginning to register again – and she was belatedly remembering the state her body was in.
The professor shook his head, beckoning Raizel over to his side.
“You’re not going anywhere like that. With your body as is, you’ll soon exhaust yourself to death.”
“…But lord’s still not here. I should-“
“If she were here, she’d tell you to take care of yourself first.”
“…”
“And you’re going to be of no help in your current state. If anything, you’d be a nuisance to protect.”
Raizel grit her teeth in frustration. The steel dragon shot a sharp glare towards the feathered figure as she pointed towards the distant mountain range.
“I’m not gonna sit here and wait. She should’ve been back way earlier.”
“Who said anything about sitting here waiting? I was saying you need treatment first.”
“And who’s gonna do that? Your magic can’t even heal dragons properly. Your student tried, but she hardly helped.”
“I can do it.”
“? You can? Since when?”
“Since now, actually.”
“…”
A certain somebody’s agonized screams were still echoing within Karas as their aptitude in magic was stolen away.
Though, the steel dragon remained oblivious of the inner turmoil going on about within the feathered figure. Even as they argued, the searing pain on her back was growing worse by the second; Raizel struggled to even keep her eyes open, her body desperate to pass out from exhaustion.
With a surrendering sigh, the steel dragon sank to the ground.
“…Fine. But make it quick.”
Coarse thoughts of the dragonlord were keeping her attention held firm. Raizel’s body lightly shook as she struggled to prevent herself from speeding off.
‘…She’ll be okay.’
“…”
While Raizel brooded in silence, Karas placed a hand beneath his chin.
Admittedly, Raizel had every right to be worried – as they’d both learned by now, his most peculiar student had a knack for getting themselves into ridiculous situations. For all he knew, Serenis was out there with another Felicir.
“Hm…”
Following suit, the professor called forth the only free spirit in his possession.
‘Felicir.’
‘What?’
‘Go find Serenis. It seems she’s off to the western mountains somewhere.’
‘I don’t recall this being a part of the agreement.’
‘It is now. Go before I lob you in with the rest like Lavnore.’
‘…Really? Are we stooping that low?’
‘In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a monster. Stooping low would be my default.’
‘But what if I dissipate while I’m gone? Do you realize how much effort it takes to retain my being as a soul on my own?’
‘Then you better do your search quickly and return, hm?’
‘…’
As the complaining spirit flew out and off into the distant skies, Karas returned his gaze to the heaving dragon to reassure her.
“I’ve sent a familiar to look for her; once they’re back, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction. I can see to your wounds while they search.”
“Did you? I didn’t see it.”
“You’re just tired.”
“…Huh.”
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Usually, a familiar would take the form of an artificial lifeform created through mana: they were visible to anyone’s naked eye.
Today, not so much.
Ignoring the youngling’s visible confusion, Karas briefly examined Raizel’s back where her burn wounds were most severe. Soon, the professor’s hands lightly glowed green as he went about restoring the dragon’s body back to shape.
And throughout the process, Raizel’s eyes remained shamefully glued to the ground.
Even as her physical pains slowly melted away, the dragon’s expression worsened by the second as Karas – of all people – tended to her state. Complicated feelings stormed within the youngling as she struggled to sit still.
When she finally opened her mouth, the first thing that came out was a complaint – or at least, it sounded like one.
“…Why’re you even healing me? You could’ve just left me to go off and die.”
“Why would I do that?”
“I killed your friend.”
“Lavnore was not my friend.”
“Not him. The…other one.”
“…Oh. Well…”
Karas briefly paused to contemplate on an answer. He hadn’t given it that much thought.
But when the professor soon gave his answer, a soft grin was on his face.
“I did something horrible, and I was punished for it. I was taught to live up to the consequences of my decisions. I’m merely doing as told.”
“…Really? You can just let it go like that?”
“I can. And, more importantly…if she were here, she’d heal you just the same.”
“…”
“And I was also told that when children misbehave, it’s usually an adult’s fault.”
“…Wait, are you saying I’m a child?”
“Ahem, excuse me while I focus for a moment. The sooner we finish here, the sooner you can join with Serenis. I need to see to Ilias as well.”
“Hey, answer the damn question!”
✧ ✧ ✧
A while earlier…
“Hmph. How brave of you to trouble yourself coming here. Had you stayed with your kin, you may have lived a while longer.”
“…”
The assailant’s arm pressed against the dragonlord’s neck, pinning her to a steep, rocky cliff.
Serenis returned an ominous glare towards the man before her.
His voice was unmistakably that of the wooden doll she’d encountered before. But unlike then, her assailant was no doll – he was a human being. There was no hood or trickery hiding his features.
But, disappointingly, this man was not Akeia’s emperor. His dark skin and light clothing were in stark contrast to the emperor’s armored, glowing self.
“…Why do you even seek to kill us?”
When the assailant returned no answer to the dragonlord’s question, Serenis wrapped her hand around the arm pinning her. She tightened her grip, her glare sharpening further as she continued.
“Your emperor killed us for his own ends, and I expected you to be no different. But your eyes tell a different tale.”
What Serenis saw within the man’s eyes wasn’t greed she’d expect from Lavnore, nor looming superiority she’d expect from the likes of Felicir.
She saw nothing in his eyes. As if he had no feelings whatsoever to even speak of.
And finally, the assailant delivered their answer.
“…This world was misdesigned. Your kind should never have lasted to the current era.”
A hazel sword was summoned into the man’s other hand, tip pointed straight towards his pinned victim.
“With the Reaper no longer present to uphold his absurd promise, this world will be corrected of its mistakes.”
Clang!
As his weapon struck the dragonlord, the assailant’s eyes widened at the sight of his blade simply breaking off – as if it’d struck into a heap of stone.
And to his dismay, the dragonlord effortlessly lowered the arm pinning her in place.
‘…?! How-‘
Normally, one would expect a dragon’s physical strength to surpass that of a human’s. But this obvious truth hadn’t applied to him for centuries – no living entity could overpower him in a contest of strength.
Until now, that is.
But when the assailant finally took notice of the mana strengthening the dragonlord’s body, he had already been thrown into the air.
‘A dragon is using reinforcement magic…? But that’s…‘
‘Something only a human would do. Or so you’d think.’
Gazing into the air, Serenis stretched out her hand towards the assailant above. Glimmers of blue began to swirl around her palm, gathering into a luminous orb of light.
And in response, the assailant summoned another hazel shield to hide behind.
“…”
At first glance, it was an unremarkable choice of defense. But judging by its color, the shield was unmistakably an antimagic barrier made of Kelador’s shell.
‘…How tiring.’
Although she and Kelador had rarely fought to begin with, the velklord’s magic-cancelling shell had always been a hassle to deal with. If he were to completely hide himself within his shell, there was little anyone could do about the colossal tortoise.
But unfortunately, what the assailant was wielding was not a shell he could hide himself in; it was a typical shield, covering only one side of his body.
“He was far stronger than you.”
The blue orb within Serenis’ hand proceeded to split itself into a dozen pieces, each becoming a ray of light that were shot upwards. Each strand wove their own path in the air to separate from one another – before converging on their target at once.
“…And he was far wiser than you.”
A portion of them were blocked by the shield. Most circled it around the surface to strike from another angle.
“…!”
Fireworks of magic ensued as the dragonlord’s spell exploded upon their target. A violent explosion ruptured the air, covering the assailant in heaps of smoke as he crashed back down to the earth.
But when the aftermath cleared, the assailant’s emotionless eyes were still fixed on the dragonlord, his body otherwise unharmed.
“…You cannot win here. Your end is inevitable, and your kind will perish.”
“…”
Serenis slowly approached the fallen figure.
Puzzled, she studied his empty gaze, searching for even the smallest hint of hatred. But no matter how hard she looked, the dragonlord couldn’t discern the source of her assailant’s contempt towards her and her kin – or if there even was any.
“Judging from your words, I’m quite convinced that you are of divinity. No human could speak of the past era…but I still fail to see why you seek to kill us so. It doesn’t seem like you despise us.”
“Hmph.”
The assailant pushed against the ground, lifting himself back up.
“You think it strange that I seek to eradicate your kind? On the contrary, this is only natural – the Reaper and his band of traitors were the oddities among man. They defied divine will. Felicir’s reign was bound to end.”
“…Divine will?...The First’s?”
“…”
Scoffing at the dragonlord’s recognition, the man merely followed with another question.
“Tell me, sinner. If you’ve lived to speak of the era before ours, then you too, would know. What has demonkind achieved in their time?”
“…What?”
His broken shield dissipated from his hand, replaced by a single sword.
It was an old, rusted weapon, undeserving of recognition. The stain on its steel suggested it was neither of a special make, nor well-cared for.
It was old and tattered, just like its wielder.
“In just one millennium, mankind has accrued a brilliant civilization upon this soil. Without demonkind’s influence plaguing our world, we’ve invented, advanced, and endlessly improved upon ourselves. But what has your kind accomplished in your millennia of reign?...Nothing. Your greatest achievements were mindless slaughter, or achievements you merely stole from us.”
“…”
“It’s small wonder the First deemed your kind unfit to remain.”
When the assailant brandished his rusted sword, a blinding light enveloped the blade whole. The glowing tip was then pointed towards the dragonlord before him.
“Hence, we were blessed – chosen to carry out his divine will. The world was to be cleansed of demons, and returned to its rightful owner. That was the justice the divine sought after.”
Serenis bit her lips. Her expression grew increasingly furious as she reminisced on the events that had transpired between her and the First.
“…Rightful owner?”
There was no rightful owner. There never was; not the First, nor demon, nor man. The world had always been what its inhabitants made it out to be, and no one possessed the authority to dictate its fate.
It was not something someone could simply ‘decide’ who it belonged to. Her brethren had given their lives to prove that point.
And yet, the First’s legacy was still deeply rooted within their world.
“…What you preach is not justice. The First’s will was never any different from ours. The star was never his to own.”
“And so every sinner would speak. Your kind refused to accept your own misgivings to the very end.”
Countless had spoken those exact same words to him.
Countless had fallen, and he’d emerged victorious every time – just as a hero would in every tale told.
‘To save our world. A world for, and of, mankind.’
They were the ones that most closely resembled the First. Only mankind retained the intelligence to understand and utilize every aspect of this world.
Then, in the First’s absence, it was only right that they would inherit his divine will and forge onward.
“Repent. For I serve as the arbiter of all your sins.”
The assailant raised his blade. As he took a single step forward, his image flickered out of view.
And when his foot touched the ground once more, he stood inches away from the dragonlord, his glowing blade rapidly descending upon her.
“My name is Hathelon.”
Mankind’s first hero,
And his final hope.