Ep 140. Of Course Not. (2)
Half an ho…
“Huh. So you think he’s made a tract with that Reaper guy.”
Raizel mused at the dragonlord’s story as she followed after her. Despite the mountain of wolves slung over her shoulder, the youngling’s mind was elsewhere altogether.
Serenis’ eyes remained glued onto the ground while they made their way back to Chell.
“Yes. To resurreeone from the dead, it seems.”
“Resurrect? How the hell would he do that?”
“…I believe he pns to recreate the manner in which I returo life. He was looking to retrieve the dead’s memories…and instill them into a patible living being.”
“Huh…well, I guess that makes se’s probably that half girl from before.”
“…Half girl from before?”
“Yeah. His…wife, or whatever she was.”
Serenis frow the steel dragon’s ued revetion. She turned her head around as they walked to question the youngling further.
“Karas was engaged? I wasn’t aware of this.”
“I mean, she’s dead now.”
“…How do you know this, child? I thought you were on rather ill terms with Karas before.”
“Well, I, uh…”
“Yes?”
“I…might’ve been the one who killed her.”
“…”
“Look, it’s not like I’m proud of it, okay? It’s why I’m trying to be o Light now.”
“…What about Light?”
“Oh, you don’t know, do you? Karas told me it’s the same person. Reinated.”
Serenis immediately halted her steps.
‘Light is his partner’s reination?’
That expined all the special treatment he’d seemed to give her thus far. That also expined why he te her along everywhere, or why Light was ab le to read the crow’s expression so easily.
But right now, that was a cause for , not relief.
“…Lord? You okay?”
Even when Raizel also came to a stop by her lord’s side, Serenis failed to eveer the youngling calling her. She instead began muttering under her breath, retrag the thoughts she’d had.
“…He pns to instill their memories into Light.”
“Uh…I mean, I guess? Is that really a bad thing though? I don’t like the Reaper bit, but you’re fihe way you are.”
“…”
“…? Lord? You okay?”
In Raizel’s perspective, this was true. In her eyes, dragonlord seemed fine just the way she was.
But in another’s – for example, Patrick’s – this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Zion’s memories remained intact within Serenis. but even she couldn’t deny that the dragonlord had seemingly robbed the human boy of his life, g it for herself instead. She was only ‘fine’ in Raizel’s eyes because the youngling had never ied with the human boy from before.
Best case sario, the Light they knew would be gone – just like how Zion had seemingly disappeared, repced with someone from a distant past.
And worst case sario, the instilled memories would csh and vie for trol – just like Aymeia’s fused, maddeate.
Either way, if Karas were to carry out his pn, then…
“…She’d never be herself again. Not as we know it.”
? ? ?
Every now and then, Serenis would eain this thought on occasion.
‘How would things have ged if I never met Karas?’
Irospect, there was no telling how much lo would’ve taken Serenis to learn of the kin’s survival and the location of their valley. There was no telling how her first meeting with Iris would’ve gone, as well her search for Aldrid, frontation with Felicir, and even the ret battle against Akeia as whole.
But in all those instahe professor had always been hiding much of his actual self.
Starting with disguising himself as a half to the public, there was his retion to Raizel, his past antics, his e to the Akeian emperor…
And stly, his current goals.
Nothing was ever clear; nothing was ever set in stone.
In fact, the dragonlord had little idea what was going through the crow’s head.
- ‘Why don’t you just kill them?’
“…”
It was an advice the other lords had shared with Serenis time and again in the past.
Their reasoning was simple: if any living beio get on their hen they were removed. Death was the surest way avaible to deny any sort of potential aftermath, and frankly, often worked out to be the best measure.
If the First would defy his death, then she’d kill him as many times as necessary. The same went for Felicir.
‘…That’s right. If he’s already gohen…’
If Karas would tio deny his motive to her face, then she merely o force the answer out of him.
If even that won’t work, then she merely o remove him from sight.
Pzt!
“…? Lord?”
Notig the faint sparking noise, Raizel poked her head out to study the dragonlord. And at the end of the youngling’s gaze, she could see Serenis’ hand, cwed and glowing in faint waves of mana.
Before anyone could react, the dragonlord’s reinforced limb shot forth into the air to grasp around the feathered monster’s throat, lifting him off his feet.
While the others flinched from the dragonlord’s ued response, only her ominous voice echoed throughout the small settlement.
“You possessed the ability to see souls.”
“…! Serenis, what-“
“Nights prior, you spoke the Reaper’s name and called out into thin air. Why?”
At first, Karas cwed at the hand that held him while questioning the dragonlord’s as. But as soon as Serenis’ st statement rang into the air, his entire figure seemed to freeze.
And, simultaneously, Light and Ilias – who’d initially meant to approach Serenis and stop her – also froze midway.
“…What…? What are you saying?”
The half girl spoke her question in a shaking voice.
Unfortunately, the dragonlord’s words weren’t an ao her question.
“Shall I make a guess? Felicir’s passed, a you called his name as if he were at your side. Then, the answer’s rather simple: the Reaper’s soul yet remains, lingering at your side.”
“…”
“And every a you take is acc to the tract between him and yourself. If worse has e to pass…then perhaps you’re nothing more than a puppet already.”
The professor’s g hands soon slipped down from the dragonlord’s arm.
He then spared a brief gowards Light before closing his eyes to give his answer.
“…The clusion you’ve drawn is free of error. Therefore, I will not raise any arguments against it.”
“…”
“I thought I’d hid it quite well thus far. To think that you of all people would’ve heard me that night…I suppose I should’ve been more careful.”
The more Karas spoke, the more Serenis’ expression twisted into a frown; the more she listehe harder she ched her teeth.
In one er of her mind, she’d wished for denial instead.
And because the professor had so easily admitted to his antics, it was all the more infuriating.
“…Are you even the Karas I know?”
“If you’re asking whether Felicir had trol, he does not – even the Reaper ’t aplish much as a mere soul unless I allow it.”
“Then for what reason would you form a tract with a mere soul? What could you possible want from a passed divinity?”
“If you’ve heard me that night, then surely you know. What I seek is the Archive – and only the Twelve’s ruler could lead me to it.”
“…”
“And it may be difficult for you to believe…we’re merely seeking to save those we yearn to save. The tract we’ve formed brings no harm to either party.”
“…Save those you yearn to save?”
Scoffing at the st bit, Serenis violently released the hand that held Karas, throwing him down to the ground.
Soon, an angered outburst followed.
“And you seek to sacrifiother’s life for that purpose? You know full well what your antics will lead to, Karas. Have you no respect for the living?!”
Grab!
As her arm jerked back from a sudden pull, Serenis finally turo face Light, staring back at her with trembling eyes and a forced smile.
“…Hey…e on, what’s going on here? What are you two talking about…?”
“…”
Light received no response from the dragonlord other than her bitten lips.
Instead, the ao her question came from another dragon behind her.
“Pretty obvious by now. Your teacher’s decided to side with the Reaper and kill you.”
“…Huh?”
“He’s basically trying to overwrite you. Just like how lord repced whoever she was before.”
“…What…are you…”
Approag the half girl with heavy steps, Raizel briskly grabbed Light by her waist before she could question the youngling further. And, in one swift motion, the steel dragon tossed the girl behind her head.
Though of course, Ilias mao catch the falling half girl just fine.
Faced with both Serenis and Raizel standing before him, Karas met the dragons’ gre midair as he slowly rose back to his feet.
“…That’s quite the stretch. I’ve no iion to kill Light in any way. Her present self will merely be added onto her past self; Serenis, you’re no different.”
The dragonlord’s eyes painfully narrowed at the ent.
Although it depended on one’s perspective, it was an undeniable truth that Serenis had seemingly robbed ‘Zion’ of the life he deserved. Even though the boy’s memories were intact within the dragonlord, no one would agree that the individual standing here was a human boy named Zion.
Karas then turo face Raizel, staring bato the youngling’s eyes.
“Raizel, if you could bring baother through another dragon, then would you not do so as well?”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
“…Uh?”
ch!
The steel dragon’s foot soon pself into Karas’ stomach with a violent g noise, sending the feathered monster sprawling onto the snow once more.
“If you were gonna miss them so much, you should’ve tried harder when they were alive. But you didn’t even stand up to me back then. She saved you while you were busy giving up.”
“…Cough…haha. After all the time you’ve spent at Serenis’ side, I expected a different response from you. She’s been through much the same process.”
“That was an act.”
“…”
“And what you’re trying to do is murder.”
Scoffing at the scrambling professor, Raizel then beed to all the warriors surrounding them.
“All of you, get over here. You said you guys were going on a monster hunt, right? You start with the ohen.”
“…Raizel, you-“
“Don’t you worry, you scum. A good beating usually knocks some sense ba.”
It was true to aent.
Historically, those who were thrashed around by Raizel did present a ge in attitude thereafter.
A series of screeg noises filled the atmosphere as Raizel cracked her knuckles. The youngling approached the fallen crow with an eerie grin, her each step smashing the snow and dirt underh.
“Brace yourself. She’s not going to save you this time.”
Praybird
