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Fel

Fel was filled with a mixture of shock, horror, and an ever growing rage as she listened to the selarin on the other side of the communication orb beg Leo to save them, all while overlaid by the torturous screams of someone in the background.

The academy was purging the town, and if they were really killing everyone, then there were a lot more than twelve inquisitors. But the thought that concerned her the most, was that they arrived way too quickly. Either they were really enthusiastic about getting to Telnar, or they had a little help from a guardian.

It wasn't the first time such a thing happened, and she clenched her fists from her relatively muted anger, knowing that at least half the town would already be dead when they got there.

‘Including Leo's friends.’ She thought mournfully, wondering how badly he would take it if the man was her mirror.

That question was one that she didn't need to wait long to have an answer to, as a feeling seemed to wash away all of her other concerns. At first she looked down at her clenched fists that were trembling, but no longer with anger or frustration. Then her eyes went wide as she slowly turned away from the communication orb, struggling to even look at the man next to her.

She had either not noticed it because she was too deep in thought, or what she was feeling was just so unfathomable.

Leo was pouring out a wave of raw mana that seemed endless to any mage that dared to look, it was so much that his body emitted a faint blue glow, and his irises were no longer a dark brown, but a brilliantly bright bluish white. It was like he was pulling out of an ocean, and the feeling sent instinctual fear up her spine.

But something piled even more fear onto her, and that was his expression.

It was as if something unseen was holding back a torrent of screaming emotions, his visage promising violence toward anyone in his way.

It was a familiar response that made the dragoness gulp at the sight of the visibly enraged human, since she had no power to stop him if he went out of control. “Leo? … Can you hear m-” Her voice caught as his eyes darted between her and Sciesch, causing them both to reflexively jerk back.

Their gazes held for only a moment, but it was like looking directly into the eye of a raging storm. They were cold, calm and restrained, betraying the rest of his fury filled visage.

Her flight instincts caused her to take a single step back at sensing a few spells being cast, but before she knew it, they were all instantly twenty stories up in the air. The sudden relocation momentarily jarred her thoughts, but then there was a loud boom. The world around them blurred for only a moment, and then they were all hovering over Telnar's merchant branch.

The stunned woman had barely enough time to process what happened, before they practically snapped down to the ground. She had almost stumbled when released by the incomprehensible magic, but the human had bolted the moment they landed, sprinting into the guild at a speed even faster than that of her people at their best.

The momentarily bewildered dragoness jumped a bit when Sciesch ran past her and after Leo, probably the least affected mentally due to the tiefling not being a mage. It was Fel's own abilities to sense all that power that warned her against following, but that indecision was squashed when she finally took notice of the overwhelming scent of blood.

Entering the branch, Fel was met with the familiar sight of magic riddled corpses, with blood and viscera sprayed across the floor and walls. It was exactly how she imagined it, a horrific massacre. She passed through the morbid scene around her, one of many she had come across in life…while some she had carried out herself.

When she finally reached her summon, she froze, an unnerving anxiety taking over her.

A terrified looking academy mage was floating off to the side of the hall, completely restrained by the same strange magic the human favored, and a fairly tall selarin was holding on tightly to said human's side while sobbing into his shoulder.

The large selarin was muttering her thanks and pleading for him to save her family, but the man seemed somewhere else as he stood motionless, his vacant gaze fixed on the lifeless body of an enslaved selarin sprawled out on the floor in front of him.

With a single ice spike through the head.

An almost melancholic feeling of recognition loomed over her, having been too late to help many people herself. ‘Can't save everyone...’ She felt sympathetic, remembering the trade deal that she spied in on, and how he comforted the selarin.

The silver haired woman took up a spot next to the tiefling, both keeping a respectful distance as they watched him kneel down over the deceased selarin. He moved a hand to close her eyes. Then moved it over her ice spiked temple, melting it away and sealing the wound. And finally, he placed his hand over the collar, the object slowly bleeding away into nothing at his touch.

“I'm sorry that I didn't do that the first time…” He whispered to the departed selarin as much as himself, Fel able to hear him clearly due to her enhanced senses.

The summoner didn't need to ask him why he didn't, her mind putting together how he made that regretful decision. She herself would have done the same before her zero tolerance policy, and that's what was making part of her anxious for a reason she was still hesitant to admit.

“Kessa, is anyone else here?” He quickly asked the jittery selarin who had been pleading with him, receiving a simple head shake in return.

Suddenly Sciesch and Kessa were magically pulled over to him, eliciting surprised yelps from both. “Fel, go to the base. The mages are likely operating out of it now, and try not to kill them all…” He commanded with an eerily detached calm, and Fel was visibly taken aback at the request to keep any of these monsters alive.

That made it apparent he wasn't her mirror, because these people didn't deserve to live for what they were doing. “Leo, I know you don't like ki-”

A loud and sickening snap of bone served to cut her off, the previously restrained mage's head now twisted completely backwards. She couldn't help but gawk at his casual killing of the mage, her assessment of him instantly proven wrong.

“Fel, at this moment, that particular moral is suspended. But I need some of them alive for what I plan to do after…” He told her with a cold and chilling tone, and the parallels between her own state of mind in this scenario made itself too blatant for her to deny.

The frightening realization left her speechless and unable to form a response, which was only prolonged when the whole roof of the guild was ripped off by an unseen force, then blinked out of sight as it was sent careening into the sky at an insane speed.

She watched as the human and his two passengers flew up high above the town and boom toward another location, knowing that the emotions that he was feeling had completely consumed him. It was probably needed for him to get through this, but she only hoped that it wouldn't permanently change him like it did her.

‘Please don't lose yourself…’

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Leo

If someone asked Leo how he genuinely felt at this very moment, he would be unable to put it into words, opting to just howl in pure anguish from the storm of emotions.

How much time was he late by to save Slessi? Minutes? Seconds? And that was just for her, and not those that painted the carnage that he forced himself passed to get to her.

Nor every scream he heard in the distance as he rocketed toward the market, wanting to find Elaria and Glia as soon as possible. He didn't have to worry about Allis, as in one of his casual conversations, he explained how healing magic could be used offensively, something that was way more effective than any vanilla spell.

But damn if it didn't still tear his heart in two, prioritizing his loved ones over the rest of the town, especially when he was knowingly choosing to help Kessa's family after he found Elaria.

Luckily he only had to round the market once, yanking up and restraining any mages he came across, when he spotted his green scaled lover next to two very dead mages and crying over-

His eyes went wide with recognition. ‘Glia!’ The thought cried out as he landed next to them, momentarily startling Elaria. She was covered in blood, tears, and had a foot long icicle sticking out of her lower leg. The second she realized it was him, she pleaded desperately for him to help Glia.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The state of the obsidian scaled selarin made him painfully grind his teeth with a bitter grief, seeing that her legs were completely charred to just above the knees. He could possibly regrow her legs, but he didn't know if it would also supply its own blood, so she might just die from blood loss if he tried to instantly regrow them. The only option left to him was to cast a spell to amputate the legs and heal over the stubs, hoping that he could properly fix her later.

The pain and rage in his heart multiplied exponentially when Elaria cried even harder after the spell was finished. “I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Glia! If only I wasn't so afraid, I would have never slipped! You wouldn't have had to come back and lose your legs! And I would have been the one they chose instead!” She cried into the chest of the unconscious woman.

Leo wanted to comfort the emotionally broken selarin, but now was not the time. So after quickly removing the icicle and healing Elaria's leg, he flew the two up with him, joining Sciesch, Kessa and the seven restrained mages before booming over to the inn. And just like last time, the human flew down by himself to make sure it was safe.

The man froze up upon entering the inn, a pure instance of numbing shock stunning him as the sight of the situation took only a moment to comprehend, but an eternity to register.

Only when one of them spoke up did he finally break out of his disbelief. “Oh look, it's another male! We were just about done with this one anyway, kill his spa-” The mage's voice cut short, as the dining area was filled with the sounds of snapping bone, all five mages slumping lifelessly to the floor.

Kesl pushed one off of him as he got to his feet, looking around in shock before addressing Leo. “Thank you Leo… but how?” His nieces ran over to him with tear stained faces as they handed him some coverings.

Leo sighed as he started pulling everyone else into the inn, feeling too numb and angry to even give an iota of a fuck about laying low anymore. In fact now realizing that all of this could have been avoided if he had announced himself after his little battle with Fel, which only added to his cocktail of emotions.

“Sorry I didn't tell you this before Kesl, but I'm an arch mage, as well as a summon.”

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Rak

Rak was having the time of his life, skinning alive a random selarin in front of the restrained guard and rebel leader, not particularly caring which side they belonged to.

The helpless and agonizing pain of all those involved, triggered a rush of pleasure he hadn't felt in a long time. The feeling of wielding total power and control over these worthless insects could never be replaced by any other joy, simply being able to relish in dominating their pitifully brief existence. And with so few future opportunities, he would make sure to take his time with this one.

Finished skinning the selarin, he set about slowly cooking her alive, her screams sounding like sweet music to his ears. When she finally died, either from the burns or blood loss, his body shuddered with pleasure.

The dragon turned to the two bound selarin, who both looked close to breaking. “Gods, it's even better after the twentieth time! Don't you agree?” He questioned with a sick joy, showing his horrifically half transformed smile, but frowned exaggeratedly at their half vacant masks of pain.

“No? Well maybe you'll come around after the thirtieth time. We do have al-” He was cut off by a fist connecting with his jaw, sending him flying into a nearby building.

“Ow! What the fuck was that?!” He yelled out while walking out of the him-sized hole in the wall.

The startled man had only a moment to glimpse the form of another dragon, before it charged him in an instant and set into delivering powerful jabs all over his large bulky body. Sharp pains peppered across him as he clumsily tried to defend himself, but being caught slightly between transformations was disorienting, and made it almost impossible for him to counter his attacker.

After Rak promptly shifted back into his smaller form, he took full advantage of his attacker's brief instance of surprise. He dodged into her punch, grabbed her arm, and swung her around his body, flinging her into another nearby building.

The assault might have lasted less than a minute, but that was enough to draw out a pained groan, his body feeling a little tender from the nearly undefended onslaught. “Okay, who the fuck ar-” He paused, recognizing her irritatingly familiar face.

The reason why so many insects gathered here suddenly started to make sense, and he couldn't help but bark out an amused laugh at it all. “Fel! Of all the shadows that I've had, your face is the only one I still remember with utter annoyance. And judging by your presence, you still have a bleeding heart for these bugs.” Fate truly had a sense of humor, to have delivered such entertainment.

Fel glared at him with pure hatred, although he much preferred the anguish and fear he coaxed out of her on occasion, it was a much lovelier look on her. “And you've only gotten worse! I've heard the stories you sick fuck! Me and half of the continent knows of the dragon that gets off on torturing anyone he has the opportunity to, weather it's women, men, or gods damn children!”

Rak chuckled cruelly at his notoriety, taking a bit of pride in it. “Such praise! I didn't know I was so famous? But you left out the elderly, they're always so sweet.” He nostalgically intoned.

Fel flung herself toward him in a rage. “Die you sick fucking piece of shit!” She growled.

Rak laughed as he immediately rushed her.

“Come on then, little dragon!”

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Sel

Sel had been forced to witness Selaria's guardian, Rak, get sick thrills from torturing selarin after selarin, casually tossing aside any who died just so he could get to the next. The torturous despair that she felt had her mind close to breaking completely, but that was when, out of nowhere, another dragon appeared to give the fucker a punch she could only dream of delivering herself.

Apparently, the rebels had a monstrous backer of their own, which went to explain why they were so confident and able to turn her women so easily. But now Telnar's fate was practically a coin flip with the two creatures going at it, and it was obvious whose side she preferred to win.

The thought made the former captain frown deeply. ‘Gods, am I really rooting for the rebels? They're the ones who caused all this…’ It was a conflicting thought, but she ultimately had to side with them due to all of Telnar being put to the torch, an action that stirred no small amount of rage she held for the cruel nobility.

Both of the dragons appeared to be matching each other blow for blow, though Fel seemed to be gaining ground against him. The spectating selarin thought it might have been because of the surprise attack at the beginning, but any warrior could see that the sadist was significantly less skilled in the art.

He was either rusty, or just above a novice. Though calling any dragon a novice at combat was idiotic, considering they could wipe out armies. And that raw power was on full display as every blow landed caused her to flinch at the sound of a small boom.

“Skin him alive Fel! Make that sick fuck bleed for all the lives he's tortured!” The rebel shouted from right next to her.

Rak apparently heard the comment and spared a moment to send an icicle her way, but Fel sent her own to intercept.

The monster smiled as he summoned a massive wall of ice in between him and Fel, and then dashed towards the fight's only spectators in an instant. He spared no time in taking the two hostage, grabbing Sel by the neck while slithering his tail around the rebel leader's own throat. Fel looked horrified by the time she got past the frozen obstacle, a sentiment that was very much shared by the shocked selarin.

‘Oh gods, this is how I'm going to die.' Sel felt the Rak's tight grip around her throat as he lifted her like a meat shield, the captured woman's thoughts resigned to anxious dread.

Fel scowled. “You fucking coward! Die with some pride!” She spat harshly, which elicited a chuckle from the crazed dragon.

“I won't be doing anything of the sort, little dragon. In fact, If you don't want your precious little bugs to be squashed, then you will do exactly as I say.” He gave Sel's neck a squeeze, causing her to struggle in his grip.

“Don't give in to this-Fu-Ack-” The protesting rebel was casually silenced with what Sel assumed was a much tighter squeeze.

Fel glared, but Sel recognized the bitter hint of resignation. “What do you want?” She asked through gritted teeth, and Sel got the sense that she would rip him in half with her stare if she could.

Rak gestured for her to come to him, and he sensually ran his hand across her face when she was in arm's reach. “Oh there's such fire in you, but it's unfortunate that it's to be directed toward protecting these…things.” He remarked while giving Sel an inconsiderate shake.

The dragoness wore an expression of disgust as the guardian trailed a hand down her clothes.

“I guess I'll have to give you a more personal lesson. I might enjoy teaching one of my own kind for a-” The guardian paused, and Sel fell to the ground as she still felt his hand loosely gripped around her neck. “-Change…?”

Sel looked up to see Rak staring blankly at his arms, his hands missing as all that was left were bleeding stubs. Looking at his tail, it was cleanly cut off as well, causing her to wonder what exactly caused such grievous injuries. She was then jolted out of her momentary lapse in situational awareness, briefly panicking at the feeling of falling horizontally across the street.

Before she knew it, Sel, Fel and the rebel leader were sitting on the ground behind a man who was emitting a faintly blue glow.

The rebel smiled wide, seeming almost relieved. “About fucking time you showed up.”

The silver haired dragoness on the other hand was furious, scowling at him. “Damn it Leo, he's mine!” She growled.

The bewildered selarin furrowed her brow as she recalled the name.

‘Leo… Wait, isn't he the recent lord?’

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