Ep 124. Do You Think Yourself Invincible? (2)

  Ever after ung Raizel off into the distance, Ilias unfortably stood in her dragon form. Her massive wings were awkwardly shifting about, as if to hide something behind them.

  “Ilias?...Are you okay?”

  “…”

  The red dragon meekly turo ahe half girl beside her. But even as her mouth opened and closed, nothing escaped her maw save a coarse, screech-like noise.

  Shocked by the ck of her own voice, Ilias hurriedly covered her mouth. She rushed to return to her usual, smaller self, thinking that it would allow her tain her voice.

  Unfortunately, even then no sensible sound escaped the red dragon’s lips. Her dizziness only grew stronger, and her neck began to itch.

  As the youngling stumbled on nothing in particur, Light worriedly rushed to her side to support her.

  “Ilias! What’s wrong?”

  “…”

  F out a grin, Ilias shook her head to reassure her little sister. And truth be told, the youngling had no idea what was wrong with her, either.

  The problem only became apparent when Light’s horrified eyes gazed upon the charred, bed patches of skin c the youngling’s neck. The numerous burns over the red dragon’s body seemed to spread further and further as if they were some sort of poison or disease.

  But instead of saying anything, Light also forced herself to smile, gently pulling her sister down to the ground.

  “L…listen, Ilias, why don’t you lie down for just a bit? You don’t have to talk, just…rest for a bit, okay? We catch up to the others after…”

  As Light gently lowered her to the ground, Ilias returned a weak nod in response. Despite her mind tellio go after Raizel immediately, her body refused to cooperate.

  ‘That’s weird…why do I feel so tired? I only took the big form for a minute or two…’

  As soon as Ilias’ head touched the ground, the youngling’s eyelids were quick to close.

  And as soon as Light firmed that the red dragon was sound asleep, the half girl rushed into the keep’s interior by herself. Frantic steps rapidly echoed throughout its hallways as she ran ahead.

  “Please, please, please…if this is a ost, there has to be some herbs or medie…there has to be…!”

  ? ? ?

  The bde of light drew a swift arc, burying itself deep into the surface of the rocky cliff.

  “…”

  Hathelon effortlessly pulled out his on from the mass of stone, slowly turning to face the dragon that had darted out of his on’s path.

  “…How odd. You’re a dragon, a I tio glimpse facets of a human soul within you. What are you, really?”

  “...Dragonlord.”

  “What?”

  “You asked, did you not?”

  After fixing her posture, Serenis warily locked eyes with her frowning assaint.

  “My name is Serenis. If you’re so knowledgeable about our era, then surely you know who I am.”

  “…”

  After a long silence, Hathelo out a derisive snort.

  “I never knew madness could ail dragons as well.”

  “Make of it what you will. I am speaking the truth.”

  “A half-wit like you, the lord ons? You, who aren’t even fully dragonkin?”

  “…”

  Once again, Hathelon raised his bde. But this time, he took no a to close the distaween them.

  “Even if you were, you are but a malformed spirit leeg on a poor human soul. Your existeself is an illusion at best. You do not belong in this world, in this era.”

  When Hathelo swung his sword into the ground, the earth erupt forth in a deluge of wicked radiao storm his enemy.

  As waves of divine light came upon her, Serenis’ expression torted at the familiar sight.

  “…”

  - ‘…How long will you wait?’

  When Eden had asked her this question, Serenis hadn’t felt the o answer her.

  She’d thought the dragonkin were fine, just the way they were; she erfectly tent to live as she always had.

  But when Arkrana had asked her the same question much ter, more than a dozen dragonkin had already passed away to those who cimed themselves as heroes. The kin had bee the sacrifice to their holy mission.

  And still, she’d returned no answer. She merely thought it to be a passing phase, an unfortunate period in an otherwise peaceful era.

  And finally, when Vulka had asked her this question, it was far too te to give a proper answer.

  “Why…”

  Serenis made no attempt to protect herself. She instead stepped forth, walking straight into the oning deluge.

  Even when she could feel the light chipping away at her skin, she merely took aep forward.

  ‘It must’ve hurt. Dying like this…’

  And like a broken record, parroted the same phrase over and over into the air.

  “Why?...”

  When the light finally died away, mankind’s st remaining hero stood mere steps away from the tattered dragonlord.

  His empty gaze was in stark trast to the resentful, grieving eyes that gred back at him.

  “…I don’t uand. What harm have we possibly incurred to your people? The First is gone, and mankind’s already emerged victorious. Why tihis madness?”

  “Why tinue, you ask?”

  A brief pause ensued as Hathelon stared into the dragonlord’s resentful eyes.

  He was still unsure whose eyes he was staring into. But the only thing he could ascertain that the individual before him, may not be all too different from himself.

  “Tell me, then. Why should t the dragonkin when we the world of demonkind’s st remains? There is no gain to be had in such practice – especially when your kin’s very existehreatens the wellbeing of tless others. You need but look at Akeia’s emperor, and all the blood he’d shed in his quest using the dragonkin’s strength.”

  “…You’d it yourself to our extin for that alone? Because your own people may use our strength to harm one another?”

  “I would, yes. If it means facilitating mankind’s peace, your kind’s extin is a small price to pay.”

  “…You speak as if you’re i. You yourself wield a demonlord’s shell for your own ends.”

  “I am well aware of my own sins. And for that, ohe world is sed of your kind…I would gdly resign my soul to oblivion.”

  Serenis grit her teeth. A deep frown crossed over her expression, her voice growing in volume.

  “Do you not see the wrong in your as?...Have you no respect for the dead?!”

  “…To use what is usable, and to discard what is not…”

  Hathelon flicked the gleaming on in hand, once again pointing its tip towards the dragonlord before him.

  “That is the very principle that has allowed mankind to endure; living or dead, it matters little. And demonkind practiced much the same – they were worse, in fact.”

  “WE WERE NOT!”

  “No? Do you know how many the sylphs killed for their gains?”

  “…The sylphs were always itted to their woods. They never harmed aside their homes.”

  “Perhaps. But the sylvan forest was not static, dragon. What do you suppose happeo the vilges that their woods grew to enpass?”

  “…”

  “Not a single one ared. They were burned, killed, tortured. Many were given to the leeches to be fed alive, their corpses thrown to the behemoths to serve as feed.”

  Retrag his arm, a yer of light instantly covered Hathelon’s bde as it was swung sideways.

  Serenis hurriedly erected a barrier before her. But when the bde cshed against the dragonlord’s spell, its divine light seemed to seep into the barrier of magiinating its very structure.

  As creases webbed through Serenis’ spell, Hatheloionless voice tio stab at her ears.

  “What justice was there to be found among your brethren?”

  As the barrier finally shattered apart, Serenis retreated another few steps to avoid the swinging bde.

  But Hathelon tio chase after the retreating dragonlord, swinging his bde in succession.

  “Was their justi the warmohat burnt everything in their path?

  Serenis tio erect barrier after barrier to deflect the oning strikes. But even as she cast her spells in rapid succession, Hathelon’s attacks began to overtake her casting speed.

  “What of the s that feasted upohing they could find? The dream leeches who drained us of our lives?”

  “…We were different. The dragonkin never-”

  “The dragonkin never harmed humans?”

  With one final swing, Hathelon’s bde hacked through Serenis’ spell. His remaining hand began to glow in the same light c his bde, instantly shooting forth to grasp the dragonlord by her ned lift her into the air.

  “Perhaps you’re right. But your kin offered little choice to those around you.”

  “…What are you talking about?”

  “Your s rested on the hunting grounds of the behemoth tribe.”

  Evident fusioled in as Serenis struggled to uand her assaint’s words. She cwed against the grip holding her in the air, choking out her answer.

  “We defended our …always. We weled humans into our kin…! We protected them just the same!”

  “And what of those that chose not to bee dragonkin?”

  Even as Hathelon’s grip tightened arouhroat, Serenis’ own hands faltered upon hearing his words.

  ‘Those that chose not to bee dragonkin?’

  What answer was there to give? Serenis had never sidered them. Or rather, she wasn’t even aware that sudividuals existed.

  And, as if he expected her silence, Hathelon tinued in a low, emotioone.

  “What choice did we have? It was either to bee an honorary demon, or stay human and be ed alive by the s. Your kin offered no prote to those who wouldn’t choose to bee your kin.”

  “…I…”

  As Serenis failed to give a coherent answer, a hint of emotio upon Hathelon’s voice.

  A tired, loathing voice stabbed at the dragonlord’s ears.

  “You said you were Serenis herself. But dragonlord, the boundary you’d drawn protected those within, and aliehose outside. You never protected us; you merely tore mankind into two, f us to resent each other.”

  “…”

  “And the one who stepped over that boundary was not you, but your daughter. She was the only dragonkin to step out of the bounds you’d set to help those in need. You did nothing but oppose her.”

  The skies ed in the ensuing silehundering clouds split open before the mass of divine light f above, shimmering into the shape of a gigantic sword that poiself towards the dragonlord.

  But Serenis’ forlorn eyes failed tister the massive on above her. She returned no answer, or even a visible rea to Hathelon’s words.

  She only closed her eyes, once again refleg ohing that had transpired in her previous life.

  ‘What was it all for?’

  Everything she’d done as a dragonlord – none of it had been because she was a righteous individual.

  Everything she’d done since her awakening – none of it had been because she actually sought to correct what was wrong.

  Indeed, Rozerre had even showhe answer before.

  ‘…This is but atoo those who have long passed away. An act of te, selfish satisfa.’

  Just like how Hathelon had no noble cause to rid the star of her kin, Serenis, too, had no noble cause in eliminating the Twelve.

  They just wao. That was all there was to it.

  Her kin had never harmed mankind, and the Twelve had never harmed Serenis directly. But it was just how things were.

  But even if their tale had no good or evil, it would heless have a victor.

  When Serenis finally opened her eyes, her pupils were stretched into a thin strand of bck, her sharpened gaze fog on the ehat held her.

  “…So what?”

  “…?”

  “Perhaps I did tear mankind into two. Perhaps I did oppose my daughter, and perhaps it’s even my fault that she’s passed away. But so what? If I k and pleaded for death, would that bring her back to life?”

  ‘…If only it would.’

  Instead of g at Hathelon’s grip as before, Serenis lightly touched on his forearm with her fiips.

  And, as if on cue, her assaint’s gripping arm was swallowed in a burst of prismatic light.

  Hathelon instantly jerked back his arm, holding it in pain. And as her assaint backed away from the sudden magic, Serenis lightly stepped onto the ground once more, her gaze fixed upwards – towards the giant on desding upon her.

  ‘It does not matter that demonkind has lost. As long as I draw breath…the dragonkin will live on.’

  If she were alone, perhaps she would’ve chosen to die here. If all others would be happier with her gohen she may have accepted death.

  But if she were to back down here, then Raizel and Ilias would be . After them, it’d be everyo the dragonkin’s valley.

  Their nightmarish days would repeat. Once again, the dragons would wage war against heroes – and this time, it wouldn’t end until they were extinct.

  “…You seek to judge me of my sins? Then I will gdly serve as your antagonist. Just like you, I will not rest until the Twelve are erased from my star. But remember this, hero.”

  Serenis grazed her foot along the ground. In the darkening skies that followed, only the glimmers of distant stars illuminated her surroundings.

  And as the dragonlord willed, rays of starlight would rain down upon the massive on, disiing it to dust before ever reag the dragonlord below.

  “…”

  As Hathelon stared into the jarring dispy, Serenis’ eyes fixed onto him with an adamant, unfiving gaze.

  “Not every tale will end in your victory.”

  Praybird