Dragonlord

Ep 134. I Did? (2)

What does a divine entity look like?

For some, the question could easily be answered; for some, the question was impossible to answer. Depending on the entity, and depending on their known appearance (if there was any), the answer was bound to differ.

But ask any Asardan, and their answers would all agree on one single description.

‘A girl resembling the sun.’

Even though the phrase wasn’t anything particularly descriptive, every Asardan would answer with certainty: that if their guardian deity were to appear, there’s no way that they wouldn’t be able to recognize her.

…At least, that’s what they would have said traditionally.

As it turned out, the traditional saying was at least partially true: the warrior did indeed take notice of the peculiar orange-haired girl standing amidst the party of outsiders. But with creeping fear of war gnawing at his conscience, combined with the girl’s relative silence, he could only assume that the girl’s appearance was a mere coincidence.

So instead, the warrior continued to speak in an alert, wary voice.

“H, h, how dare you set foot into our lands, Akeians! Do you realize where you’re standing?!”

“…Middle of nowhere?”

“Shut it, half! Our land is not one your filthy mind can hope to understand!”

“…”

Pursing her little lips in anger, Light turned to face the rest of her party. While she didn’t say another word, the half girl’s eyes clearly read: ‘okay, someone else do something.’

And Karas sighed in response, shaking his head in dismay.

‘I should’ve been more careful. To think we’d encounter someone before even reaching Chell…’

Briskly stepping forth, the professor lowered his head in a respectful manner to greet the wary warrior.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. We are not from the empire.”

“So you lot just happened to cross over the bordering mountains when war is on the horizon? You think I’d believe that?”

“…No, I didn’t think you would. I was simply hoping you would.”

“Enough. This is no place for outsiders. Leave this land at once – or I’ll consider you lot as invaders!”

Karas took a step back, noting the warrior’s adamant attitude. Bringing Aymeia alone was already a difficult task with how sensitive Asardans were regarding outsiders – and having an entire party was, as expected, turning out to be considerably worse.

‘…I don’t suppose I can convince him of Aymeia’s identity now…if worse comes to pass, Asardans will come to perceive their own guardian as an enemy. If that happens, then Aymeia’s memories may be as good as lost…’

Another long sigh followed as Karas internally resigned to the situation at hand. There may still have been room for conversation had he been alone with Aymeia, but with others present, there was little words could accomplish.

And, with that thought in mind, action followed suit.

The dragonlord’s action, that is. Not the professor’s.

Thud!

Disappearing from sight, Serenis reappeared behind the warrior to strike the behinds of his neck. A dull crunching sound soon followed as the warrior’s eyes lost focus, his body stumbling forth powerlessly.

Fortunately, Serenis quickly wrapped one arm over the unconscious warrior to break his fall.

Unfortunately, others were not impressed – especially Karas.

“…Serenis, did you just…?”

“Did I what?”

“…Did you just kill him? Is he dead?”

“Of course not. That’s precisely what I stopped from happening.”

“Hm?”

Karas’ eyes quizzically followed the dragonlord’s. At the end of her gaze was a steel dragon, innocently looking away whilst she loosened her iron fists.

“What? I was just gonna hit him once too.”

“…Child, he’s just human.”

“So?”

“If I’d let you strike him instead, he’d no longer be of this world. Unless you hold back significantly, he’s not going to survive a single strike from you.”

“That’s his problem.”

“…”

After letting the silence simmer for a while longer, Serenis brought the warrior over to Aymeia, offering the limp body towards her.

“Aymeia.”

“…Y, yes?”

“Take him home. You can carry this much, yes? It wouldn’t do to leave your people abandoned in the snow.”

“…O, of course.”

After the former deity awkwardly accepted the body into their arms, Serenis quickly turned to Raizel, beckoning the steel dragon over.

“Raizel. Come with me.”

“Huh? Where?”

“You’ll know once we’re there. And as Karas has said, they’d be better off without you…I mean, us.”

After finishing, Serenis briefly spared a moment to nod towards the feathered professor. He quickly nodded back in agreement of the dragonlord’s decision.

Although the party’s headcount was a problem in of itself, the reason why it was a problem in the first place was due to the potential trouble that they would incur between them and Asarda. If anyone was going to incur trouble, then Raizel was on the top of that list.

And the steel dragon wasn’t going anywhere unless her lord would also take leave.

“…Wait, just us though? What about Ilias? And Light?”

“I’m sure they’ll get along with the people far better than we would.”

Before the steel dragon could offer another complaint, Serenis grabbed hold of Raizel’s wrist before taking off into the air. The two dragons’ silhouettes soon shimmered in the air like magic, disappearing from vision to prevent being seen.

‘Oh, wait. That is magic.’

Scratching her head, Light emptily stared into the empty space where the two dragons had disappeared. Serenis’ words echoed inside her head as the half girl mulled over what had been said.

“…Didn’t Serenis basically just say that Raizel’s unsociable?”

“She’s not wrong.”

“While I also agree…keep such thoughts to yourselves, you two.”

“…”

While the others courageously commented on the grumpy steel dragon, only Aymeia kept her silence. She dropped her gaze to the sleeping warrior in her arms with conflicted eyes.

A long sigh escaped the former deity’s lips.

‘…And I thought I was weird.’

✧ ✧ ✧

After landing on the top of a nearby hill, Serenis gently placed the steel dragon back on her feet. As her invisibility spell wore off, the two dragons soon became visible to the naked eye once more.

“…Wow, I didn’t think you’d be able to fly so easily with me in tow. Aren’t I heavy?”

“Not enough to disturb simple flight.”

“Heh…that’s still pretty impressive. Even Ilias had trouble carrying me during flight.”

“…I’m sure it was more a hassle than it was a burden.”

“I guess. Though, what’re we doing here? If they just needed us out of the picture, couldn’t we have used that invisibility spell and stayed with them?”

“…”

They could have. And, under most other circumstances, that’s exactly what Serenis would’ve opted for.

However, an invisibility spell did little to prevent sound or touch. In other words, even with the spell in place, a single thoughtless strike from Raizel and it would all be for naught.

But instead of admitting what she feared out loud, the dragonlord elected to change the topic altogether.

“Raizel. Are you cold?”

“Huh? Uh…it’s bearable, I guess? It’s pretty much like that time when we crawled into that frozen pit.”

“…”

As Karas had forewarned, Asarda’s climate was nothing short of freezing. The grey skies, the bone-chilling winds, and the snow piled over their surroundings all pointed to how cold the entire region was.

However, Serenis couldn’t shake off the odd feeling nagging at her mind.

Just like her son’s grave, the cold of this region felt out of place. It was almost as if something alien was keeping things the way they were by force.

Serenis raised her gaze, but her eyes couldn’t even discern the location of the sun. Only grey skies filled her vision.

‘Is that simply due to ill weather? Or…’

The dragonlord soon shook her head, discarding the thought altogether. Whatever was causing Asarda’s odd climate, restoring her son’s…or, restoring Aymeia’s memories took precedence.

According to Karas, the first step was for Aymeia to regain her people’s trust. And while simply declaring herself as their guardian deity may be sufficient, it wouldn’t hurt to have the people in her debt.

Especially during hard times.

“…Come, Raizel. It’s time to hunt.”

“Eh? Hunt? Are you hungry?”

“No, but…”

Serenis briefly recalled the warrior they’d encountered earlier – and how starved he’d seemed before they’d taken him by surprise. He seemed thankful of the tiny game he’d held, as if even that meager piece was a rarity to find.

‘Considering the climate in these parts, it probably was.’

Hardened scales began to shroud the dragonlord’s skin. Her sharp gaze cut through the blowing winds as she scanned the vicinity for signs of life.

“…We’ll probably need it soon.”