Amon took a second look at Juno. She was what he’d describe as meticulous, but not annoyingly so. Her attention to detail was admirable. There wasn’t a single wrinkle or stain in her black suit. She was dressed like what one would expect from someone leading an Empire, from the black combat boots to the black pants to the white button up jacket equipped with fanciful shoulder pads and multiple badges adorning her. All of her clothes had golden trim and accessories as well to accent the black, other than the plain black hat that she wore over her brown hair.

There was an air around her that didn’t exactly demand respect but forced it. He found a certain sense of fear and admiration being pulled out of him whether he wanted to feel it or not just from being in her presence, much similar to the way he felt when he first laid eyes on Mother. There was no way she was lying about being one of his four elder siblings. Juno was a dragon, one that was especially distinguished from the other dragon he’d met. She wasn’t even leaking any energy that he could detect and he could feel the power emanating from her.

Isn’t she an enemy? Why is she protecting me?

Nya looked back at her, challenging the other woman with her gaze. From what Amon could see, she had no intentions of backing down. The other members of the Ten simply watched, none of them looking particularly worried about the turn of events. Even the man that resembled Rea was watching passively, so Amon figured that there was nothing to worry about. If he really was an asset to their family, that man would step in if his life was in danger…

Right?

“Lady Juno, unhand me. I don’t care about her wrath, my family is doomed regardless because of his actions. If we’re to perish no matter what, I might as well find satisfaction in taking his life.” said Nya.

Amon wasn’t going to simply stand by and let his fate be decided by others. He started to prepare the same attack that got him through the test, silently gathering mana in his fist so that he could at least distract her long enough to flee. He knew that he couldn’t win, but he’d do what he could to survive. He planned to summon Blue when he fled so that his wolf could take him further than his own legs could carry him.

He honestly wanted to summon Jack and Seru, but they were both very stubborn. It was likely that they would make the situation worse, and end up flat on the ground like Nya.

Wait, what?

He saw Nya kneel suddenly, then a circular area around her became indented. Then, a second later, the indentation became a full on crater, and Nya’s face was planted to the ground. He couldn’t see what force was weighing on her, but judging from the current situation, he was sure it was one of Juno’s power. Her control was terrifying. She didn’t give away any signs that she was doing anything, which gave the impression that this was as easy as breathing for her. On top of that, not a single ounce of energy leaked out. It was perfectly contained, to the point where he wouldn’t have even known anything was happening to begin with if he wasn’t watching it with his own two eyes.

“Although I find your spirit and lack of fear admirable, I cannot allow you to do such a thing. My precious little brother is under the protection of the Empire as of now, so if you so much as cause him to lose a second of sleep I will personally deliver a fate much worse than death to not only your entire guild but everyone you’ve ever shared a moment of warmth within your meaningless existence. You are not to intervene in the matters of beings that stand above you.”

The way Juno spoke was elegant, but chilling. These threats weren’t empty in the slightest. He knew that she meant every last word that came out of her mouth, regardless of how unreasonable it may have sounded. Even as she spoke the crater continued to get deeper and deeper every five seconds on the dot, adding more pressure to the woman until Juno was satisfied.

Once she released Nya and completely ruined a section of the staircase, she descended the steps herself and stopped in front of Amon. She looked him up and down, inspecting him with a look that almost made him want to shudder. What was she trying to find in him?

Silence hung in the air. Someone went to go retrieve Nya, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off Juno. It was all he could do to return her eye contact when he wanted to run away for his own safety, but he knew doing so was absolutely futile. So, instead, he decided to do what he did best: bullshit!

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Thank you for the assistance, elder sister, but I could have defeated her myself.”

“Eldest sister.” She corrected sharply, but there was no malice that he could sense in her voice. It was only a matter of fact. “I’m sure you could have, but it doesn’t serve you to waste your energy on such trifles. You have to spend this time building your foundation properly rather than engaging in petty blood feuds with families that hold no true power. You have one ring around your core already? That’s impressive, it took your eldest brother three centuries to solidify his.”

He didn’t know how she could tell, but he figured it had something to do with the fact that she was a dragon. If what Mother said was true, then he was just as much of a dragon as she was, despite the fact that the System classified him as a human. That meant that he would most likely be able to do anything that she could, given enough time.

“Thank you for the compliment, eldest sister.”

She smiled softly. Apparently, she was pleased.

“One ring isn’t enough though, nor is one measly core. You’ll be joining the Empire and taking a training course curated personally by me.”

“What a shame, I wanted the kid for myself!” exasperated Hanz in the background. Nobody else seemed comfortable enough to crack a joke.

He didn’t really want to affiliate himself with any group, but he also didn’t want to offend his sister and lose her protection. It was much smarter to stay on her good side for the time being, but there was something in him that compelled him to do what he wanted to do regardless of how dumb it may have seemed. Unbeknownst to him, he felt like he truly was the main character of this story, and that came with a certain amount of plot armor. So he was allowed to make unreasonable decisions.

“I do not wish to join the Empire, eldest sister.”

He swallowed gently, tensing up as he waited for her reaction. He couldn’t read her facial expressions for the life of him.

After a pause, she responded.

“Do you plan to start your own guild then?”

He’d never thought about it until she asked. Did he want a guild? No matter how powerful he became, there was a limit to what one man could do. He had a lot of areas he lacked in, but was a guild that important? He had his dungeon to manage, yeah, but he got the feeling that the Tower was much too vast for him to only rely on himself and his summons. It would probably make more sense to just join an established guild, especially one where he would receive special treatment, but he didn’t know enough to blindly trust her.

“I’m unsure.”

“Uncertainty is unacceptable. Choose, now.” The air around her was somewhat threatening as she stared at him.

“I can’t. I don’t know enough to make the best decision for me yet.”

“And what will you do when you’re faced with a time when you have to decide regardless of your lack of information?”

“My best, I suppose.”

She smiled even wider this time, showing the most emotion he’d seen thus far. “Great. My little brother is confident enough to do what he wants as any dragon should but he’s not reckless enough to let his talent go to his head. Whatever you decide to do, I will support you with all I have because you’re my precious little brother. Take your summons out.”

He was glad his gamble paid off. He was going to oblige, but he remembered that the Tri guild was present. “Eldest sister, one of my summons will get a negative reaction from someone here. They’re rather hostile towards her.”

“Tch,” she said softly. She looked… disgusted by his hesitation. “Do not ever shy away from conflict with these lesser beings, dearest brother, especially when I am here. I’ve already put you under my protection, so no one with half a brain would dare to challenge you. Anyone foolish enough to do so will be punished severely. Do not make me repeat myself.”

He nodded softly and called out Seru, Blue, and Jack.

As he’d expected, there was visible anger in the face of the blue haired member of the Ten. He didn’t act on it, though. Juno really did instill fear in their hearts.

This is my big sister. Please don’t cause any problems with her. He said to all of his summons.

It was surprisingly Jack that responded first. Can’t you tell how strong she is? I couldn’t hold a candle to her power even if I trained for a thousand years straight. None of us are dumb enough to challenge her.

That’s what he said, but Seru didn’t shy away from her. Amon had no choice but to wonder what the hell that goblin was made of to be so bold.

After a brief inspection, Juno nodded softly. “They’ll all be trained too. You’ve done well in picking out some talents, especially this goblin girl. I see why Mother took a liking to her.”

How can she tell?

“Here, a parting gift from your eldest sister.” She took Seru’s arm into her hand and covered her bracelet, depositing some kind of energy into it before releasing her. “Report to training three hours before sunrise, in our guild hall. They’ll know who you are. Remember, we brandish the name Alucard with absolute sovereignty. You are never to show mercy to any that dare to disrespect you, because in doing so they are also disrespecting Mother.”

She turned to make her way back up the stairs and to the guild hall, her walking speed consistent. She even had the exact same amount of space between the steps in her stride, making her come off as calculated.

Before she was gone, he made sure to send her a friend request, which automatically made them friends since she had already sent him one. He made a mental note to go through the rest of his requests to see if anyone worthwhile had sent him one, like Rea’s kin or Hanz.

Once she was gone, he sighed softly. The rest of the Ten apparently had nothing to say to him because they left as well, leaving him in the courtyard alone with his summons.

Today has been a long day. Let’s go get some sleep.