Adrest and Alissa were both sober by now and since neither of them were human, they were only feeling a little tired rather than exhausted after staying up all night and flying all the way here.
Rose loved the stories about Belle coming out of her shell, and they in turn learned what had happened around the town since they’d been gone. It was now the slow season since the auction had ended but there was still a consistent stream of new faces showing up every day. The only thing of note was that there was a sudden influx of monsters in the area, enough so that a big shot was supposedly coming over to investigate and cull the population.
Nearly 4 hours passed before they left the inn and said their goodbyes to Rose. They picked up the newly fitted black leather armor and accessories and got their large pile of sweets from the café. The two found a spot to covertly place it all in Alissa’s storage bag before leaving from the opposite gate they had come in, just like last time.
When the town was barely visible in the distance, Adrest and Alissa spread their wings and sped back home. Wondering if Belle would make it back tonight or tomorrow afternoon, they found themselves excited and cleared the whole first floor of the house, making room for over a dozen games that either Adrest had made, or they had bought from the market square. There was everything, from a simplistic version of Connect 4 he had made. A warfare simulation game taking up a whole table itself, that was a little too complicated for Belle at the moment, but she loved alternating between the two adults helping each side. There were also decks of cards ready to go, and boards set for both chess and checkers.
They took in the room, satisfied, and set about killing time while they waited for their newest family member to return. Adrest thought this was as good a time as any and set to ask Alissa a question that he had for a while now but didn’t have an opportunity to ask.
“Hey Alissa, what is your home country like? It’s Illerg, isn't it? You’ve never outright said it, but you’re obviously from an important family, and dragons are the rulers of the beast nation, right?”
She was momentarily stunned at the sudden and personal question, but smiled and answered, “You’re technically correct, but also a little wrong. I am from a ruling clan of Illerg. And most dragons live in the misted forests in the center of the nation, they're for all intents and purposes a different county compared to the rest of Illerg.”
“The misted forests? And there are multiple clans in charge?” Adrest asked, now even more curious.
“It’s a nearly endless stretch of mountainous rainforest, it has countless crystal-clear lakes and rivers feeding into one another. Each tree that grows there is at least the size of 3 of the ones here combined, with crowns miles long, the size makes it easy for us to fly through the area, without having to go above the treetops. It’s a paradise fit for even gods.”
She seemed to get lost in her memories and trailed off for only a heartbeat before clearing her throat and continuing her explanation.
“And yes, there are 5 ruling dragon clans at any time to ensure equality. The clans in charge change frequently however, as it is based solely on strength. Right now it is ruled by the storm clan, darkness clan, holy clan, earth clan, and finally the spirit clan.”
Digesting the information, Adrest thought he followed, except for one thing. “I think I understand the rest of the clans, but what is a spirit dragon exactly?”
Now absorbed back into her teaching role, Alissa quickly and concisely explained, “They’re extremely rare, and they directly attack the soul and consciousness. They were reclusive and kept to themselves until the current clan head took over. From a young age she was particularly gifted at manipulating souls and forcefully brought the whole clan to a new level.”
Adrest could hear the admiration in Alissa’s voice as she explained and thought it made sense, even he was in awe at the mysterious dragon’s deeds, and he felt it likely Alissa had met her.
“You really admire her huh?”
Smiling, Alissa answered “Yeah, she’s also known as the most beautiful dragon, she’s incredibly strong but doesn’t rely on her brute strength. Father has always said that she is the only one of the other old-timers that could match him in wit. She is an idol to nearly every female dragon.”
She spoke with a pride that made Adrest sigh in admiration, wishing he had someone so perfect to look up to. Since Alissa seemed to be in a good mood and was happy to share more of her past, he asked a final question.
“You clearly love your home, it's written on your face when you talk about it. How did you end up all the way over here?”
Alissa shrugged helplessly and seemed to pout, “Father threw me out and said I couldn’t return until was strong enough to kill S rank monsters with ease.”
Adrest was shocked to hear the cruel requirements, the difference between ranks had been drilled into him by Alissa herself after all, she stressed how much of a gap each letter was, and it only increased exponentially as you went higher. He was about to ask why he would do such a thing, but she seemed to read his mind.
“Don’t give me that look, he did it for me after all. When dragons reach maturity, the women and men fight separately, then the top one hundred of each side will fight to determine the generational rankings, the prizes top placing individuals get are amazing! And if you score in the top ten, you earn the title dragon scion, get to enter super secret places, and even get taught by dragons that have ascended to godhood!”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Adrest had a feeling she had just told him secrets of the dragon race, but it was overshadowed by amazement for just how strong her country was, and her drive to be the best among them.
“So how long do you have until that starts, is it okay to spend so much time helping Belle and I?” He was suddenly worried his training the last few months had endangered her dreams.
She smiled sweetly at his concern saying “Don’t worry, it’s still a few years away and if I go all out I’m pretty sure I can kill something S rank already. Plus, I’m having too much fun here!”
She grabbed his hand in both of hers at the last part and showed a smile that made the very world around her dull in comparison. At that moment Adrest felt her tanned skin looked far more precious than any gold and her eyes carried a joy that would stay with Adrest forever.
He carved the scene in his memories, unwilling to forget the slightest detail of the picturesque moment in front of him and squeezed her hand back gently, smiling back at her. The two stood for a time together, comfortable in the silence before going back to playing cards to wait for Belle’s homecoming.
Knowing that Belle should be back tomorrow. It was a quiet evening, with the two bathing and only having a few drinks together to help sleep come faster. They both slipped to sleep quickly, still feeling the slight effects of missing a night’s sleep.
While Adrest would normally be up with the sun, his body demanded rest after the busy day, and thus was surprised when he awoke to the sound of his door being knocked off its hinges as Alissa charged in.
The sun was shining bright in his panicked eyes, and he immediately woke up seeing the look of worry on Alissa’s face. The other thing he noticed was the ring on her finger was brightly glowing with a deep blue and the air around it was vibrating strongly. The hand the ring was on was clenched in a white-knuckle grip and he noticed a slight tremor to it.
As he jumped out of his bed, Adrest asked “What direction do we go?”
He threw on a black robe that had been tossed to the side, as he didn’t want to waste time changing, and tied his sword to his side. With his pitch black, raven wings extended he truly looked like a prince of darkness as he exuded a murderous aura at the thought of their Belle being in mortal danger.
“It’s to the southeast, she shouldn’t be too far away. There shouldn’t be anything that could corner belle around here though. I just checked and scared everything off a few days ago.”
The two raced off at full speed, Adrest being dragged by the arm as Alissa was still much faster than him. They appeared to be a purple bolt of lightning shooting horizontally through the sky.
The two followed the signal the ring produced, Alissa sending her mana into it constantly to check. In a scant few minutes, as they arrived above a clearing Adrest felt his blood boil, and veins through his body throb in unison at the scene below. He stood there in a shocked rage, unable to comprehend why there would be such a large band of humans so deep in the forest.
A group of humans surrounded the barrier. Maybe 20 or so of them, with three quarters of them in heavy metal plate armor, like knights. And the remaining in cloaks and light armor, all holding staffs and wands betraying their magic professions. The magicians were sending spell after spell into the winds swirling around Belle, with the knights swinging glowing swords with loud clangs.
What the two floating above focused on however, was the crumpled form of a small girl in the eye of the windstorm. She was covered in scrapes and cuts, like she had been focused on escaping. Several of those cuts were deep and leaked a constant stream of blood. Even her face wasn’t spared, as she had a gash across her forehead, she seemed to have the start of a black eye as well as a crooked nose slowly dripping blood.
Belle was in truly terrible condition, her unconscious expression one of pain. Adrest’s heartbeat grew louder, louder than should be possible. The noise even drew Alissa out of her stupor and as she unclenched her fist, and dug out her nails that had buried themselves in her palm. She gasped as she looked over to see Adrest’s usually bright orange eyes turn a deep, ominous red. Blood streaked down his face as the black horns that normally barely poked out of his matching hair elongated and curved outwards. They formed needle sharp points, sticking out menacingly from his head in front of him. His nails grew four inches and turned into the same black chitin as his horns, as well as spikes extending from his wings and coating his newly formed tails tip, sharp as a knife.
The heartbeat grew only louder, a heavy bass that the people below missed due to their unending volley of attacks on the barrier. But Alissa as heard the heartbeat, she knew what was happening and what that sound heralded. The people below really had no way out now.
She had been taught it was called the Drum of War. The brutal magic triggered when a demon’s rage was pushed to an absolute. A pureblooded demon can overcharge their body and mana paths, transforming the body to perfectly suit the individual and forcibly widening and overflowing mana paths through the body for more overwhelming power. When used by the strongest of demons, even gods trembled in fear, or at least her father had said as such.
Alissa knew that there was nothing she could say to wake Adrest up at the moment, and she felt nothing for the group below that would be his sacrifice. She watched him finish the transformation, and his heartbeat was loud enough to vibrate the very air near him.
He flashed down in a black blur, letting loose an inhuman roar that sounded of grief and rage, a mix of negative emotions that dragged the listener into the icy depths and made all those below look up in unison. Some dropped their weapons at the mere sight of the demon flying towards them.
As he arrived in the center of the crowd, Adrest didn’t even draw his weapon, instinctually his new appendage and nails to decimate those around him. He sent swords off course with a flash of sparks, then would sink his nails or tail into even the smallest chink in their heavy armor.
He danced through the crowd, never staying in one spot long enough to be completely surrounded, and was making quick work of the humans, who now ignored Belle as they fought for their lives.
Alissa took this as her cue and used the ring to go inside the wind barrier and took out a small bottle that fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. It held a bright golden liquid that seemed to emit its own light. With no hesitation, Alissa opened the bottle and as gingerly as she could manage, tilted Belle’s head up.
She poured some of the thick liquid into the unconscious girl's mouth, but Belle appeared too weak to swallow it without choking. Nearly breaking her teeth from grinding them in fury, Alissa brought the bottle to her mouth and took a small mouthful, locking lips with the dying girl she considered a sister, and forcing the medicine down.
This repeated several times before the elixir was gone, and Belle was already looking completely healed but still unconscious. Alissa sighed in relief seeing the girls healed form and pulled a pillow out of nowhere to set under Belle’s head before getting up to inspect the scene outside.