Ep 5. What Even Was That?! (5)

  Serenis watched as the sery rapidly ged beh her.

  ‘…So much has ged.’

  It wasn’t just the cities or the civilization that occupied them. Entire ndscapes had shifted. If Karas hadn’t firmed the name of the star, she wouldn’t even be sure she was on.

  ‘And if the world ged so much…’

  Would her kin have remaihe same?

  Entire geions must’ve gone past, but dragons were loath to ge. It was one of the reasons why Serenis was so hesitant to join any flict during her life. Their tribe preferred seclusion, and they had the strength to support their secluded lifestyle. Few could dare question a dragon’s choice of life.

  And because she knew her kin, Serenis was relieved when Karas had said they lived in seclusion still.

  ‘Maybe they haven’t ged that much.’

  Maybe, just maybe…

  They’d still remember her.

  With a heart full of hope, Serenis sped across the skies. Or at least tried to…until she felt a pang of pain in her heart again.

  ‘Already?’

  pared to her inal body, ‘tiny’ was not enough to describe her current mana reserve.

  And normally, she wouldn’t eveo make mana wings. She had physical wings. Once upon a time, anyways.

  She desded unto the ground every then and there, refilling her mana from the earth.

  ‘Oh, how the mighty have fallen…literally.’

  At least her affinity with the star seemed to remain. If she’d lost even that, she couldn’t dare to cross the ti like this. Refilling her mana from the ground would remain a distant memory.

  “Just a little more to go.”

  After a few hours’ passing, a mountaine came into view. Large forests of green stretched behind the range, creating what looked like a valley that bordered nature and civilization.

  And, albeit faintly, she could sense familiar presences.

  ‘That must be it!’

  Serenis could feel her heart throbbing, this time from excitement more than a ana. The familiar presence grew stronger and stronger, inf her of their closing distance.

  …?

  ‘Wait, it’s a little to, I’m still in the air-‘

  Her thought was finished halfway until a lug of metal tackled her in the sky, sending her falling back down to the ground.

  “…SHIELD!!!”

  A rge thud echoed throughout the mountain range as she nded on a jagged stone surface like a meteorite. No doubt her body would’ve been smashed to pieces without the rushed shielding spell.

  She struggled to lift herself upright, but found her body being pressed down by what felt like a heap of metal. She pushed at it with what little strength she had, but to no avail.

  “Ugh, what is this thing?”

  For a moment, Serenis thought that an actual meteorite had hit her. What other metal-like object could plummet down to hit her in the middle of the sky?

  However, the silvery grey hair her hand ced on suggested otherwise.

  ‘Wait, it’s a person-’

  Suddenly, the million-ton figure took a deep breath with her face still buried in Serenis’ stomach. That alone was enough to creep the dragonlord out, and it certainly didn’t help wherange figure raised her head, silver eyes gleaming in delight.

  “You smell nice!”

  “…”

  “Who are you?!”

  Instead of answering, Serenis bnkly stared at the figure’s face.

  Silvery, u hair. Long enough to almost reach her hips.

  Aremely dense and heavy body that directly defied what their thin figure suggested.

  Two grey eyes that lightly glowed in light, much akin to pieetal.

  And a haphazard outfit that, judging by its color, was likely made out of the wearer’s own scales.

  ‘Arkrana? No, it ’t be. Arkrana died in that battle. And if this really is her, she would reize my presence…’

  Arkrana. One of her eldest kin that had an exclusive affinity for metal. She, too, shared the same hair and eyes. And the ck of care in her clothing. But despite the carelesshat reflected oside, Serenis khat the dragon of steel retained one of the mhteous hearts of all her kin.

  The likely expnation was that this dragon on top of Serenis was their desdant.

  If the girl was in her dragon form, Serenis would’ve been able to tell better. As, dragons had alreferred taking a humanoid form uhe situation called otherwise. Their sheer size often caused numerous inveniences…

  …Or so the dragonlord tried to think, watg the girl sniff Serenis from head to toe.

  ‘Arkrana…your desdent is a pervert.’

  “Child, could you…move aside? You’re quite heavy.”

  “I don’t listen to weaklings.”

  “Weak…ling…?“

  “You smell nice.”

  The metal dragon’s adamant stance was enough to paralyze Serenis’ thinking food few seds.

  ‘When was the st time anyone called me a weakling?’

  Quite literally never. Even the First had reized her as a formidable foe.

  “I’ll say it one more time. Move aside.”

  “Try me, human.”

  Okay, that does it.

  Serenis took a deep breath, and the smile on her face was now mixed with annoyand irritation. Lots of it.

  Humans being unize her was uandable. They’re just humans.

  But her own kin? Calling her a weakling? This was no different than a little child spitting on the face of their king.

  “???.”

  As soon as the dragonlord muttered a short, inprehensible phrase under her breath, the steel dragon could feel her body reag to it immediately.

  Serenis opened her mouth to speak in succession.

  “Move.”

  The dragon girl’s limbs snapped accly, getting up from the dragonlord’s body and standing absolutely still i didn’t take long for her to realize she couldn’t move her own body.

  And wheried to open her mouth to speak, she realized that her lips were part of the binding.

  Serenis slowly rose to her feet, briefly whisking off the dust from her now-tattered clothing. The dragonlord angrily gred at the metal dragon, though not quite out of malice. Just extreme irritation.

  “Name.”

  “Raizel!”

  “Age.”

  “100…something! I stopped ting after!”

  “.”

  “Northern valley, not far from here!”

  “Why did you tackle me in the sky?”

  “Your prese was…it was, um…”

  “Go on.”

  “…Familiar. Very familiar. I thought you were a dragon!”

  Serenis sighed. 100-something…she was just barely an adult. And to Serenis, she might as well be a hatg still.

  And the dragonlord couldn’t bme the youngling for feeling familiarity towards her. Even if Raizel’s never met Serenis directly, the dragonlord’s presence would instantly give away her status as a lord to her kin. Or at least as a far, far distant elder. But Raizel didn’t refer to Serenis as either, which would mean one of two things.

  ‘Either there aren’t any elderly drago, or…this one’s a little dense.’

  Serenis watched Raizel frozen iruggling to move. She looked rebellious at first, but now it looked like the poor child was about to burst into tears.

  ‘Probably the tter.’

  “…You’re free to move. As long as you don’t do anything to harm me.”

  As if released from a tury-old binding, Raizel burst into heavy pants. Serenis betedly realized she wasn’t eveing the poor child breathe.

  Woops.

  “Huff…huff…what was that?!”

  “Draic speech.”

  “What the heck is that?”

  “A binding spell in the form of spoken words. A form of speech exclusive to the dragonlord towards her kin…or, their kin.”

  “Dragonlord?”

  “Yes. Your ruler.”

  Serenis felt rather awkward having to expin this as a third party. Before, she could simply say it was her exclusive authority. Now it wasn’t.

  But clearly, something about the expnation was fusing Raizel. Her head was tilted, her eyes squinted.

  “Are you fused because I’m not a dragon?”

  “No, it’s not that.”

  “Then what is it? Something’s clearly fusing you.”

  “It’s just…well…”

  “Well?”

  “We have a ruler?”

  “…”

  Tell me you have one.

  Please.