Dragonlord

Ep 141. Of Course Not. (3)

By no means are monsters inherently weak.

In fact, had they been of little threat, then no hunter would be offering their services at such steep costs; in fact, the profession may not even exist. No soldier or warrior would have to go on routinely hunts to cleanse towns of their presence.

The entire reason monsters were feared was because they possessed formidable strength, and because many had a tendency to attack people.

Of course, with time’s passing, common monsters had been hunted numerous times and their weaknesses were widely known. Asarda’s parworms were a prime example: every inhabitant of Asarda from elder to child knew that these creatures were prone to heat.

But sometimes…on an unusual, extremely rare occasion…

A completely new monster would appear unto the world: one that was never seen before, one that would never be seen again.

And they would often bring about great disturbances to the world around them.

“Light, get back! You’ll get hurt like this!”

“But…”

“Just come already!”

After the red dragon hurriedly pulled away her little sister, the place they’d been standing on was trampled underfoot with a thunderous thud. Raizel’s massive, scaled limb stood in place, covered in black flames that were slowly sizzling away within the trampled snow.

Chell’s warriors likewise began to step back, each glancing towards their guardian deity as they did so.

“Lady Aymeia! W, what’s happening? Were they not your allies?!”

“…This is no time to be complaining. We should stop them-“

“You plan to get in between THAT?! Don’t be absurd!”

“…”

Amidst the warriors’ shouts, Aymeia merely stood in place, watching the clash between monster and dragon.

“…Al…lies…”

Allies. They were allies.

One was an eager academic, who was also shadowed by her old mentor. The other was a loyal kin to the very person she believed to be her mother.

But what if they were after each other’s throats?

“Lady Aymeia…forgive my brashness, but they were on our side, no? Please, stop them!”

“…”

‘…Our side?’

Which side is ‘our side’?

Several times, orange flames flickered into Aymeia’s hands, only to fizzle out thereafter. The former deity was uncertain herself if she could stop either of them – and even if she could, she knew not where to direct herself towards. Instead, she’d merely back away another step, balling her fists in frustration.

But within the chaotic clash, a single individual stood in their midst, standing firmly in place.

“…”

With drowned eyes, Serenis watched on as Raizel and Karas continued their fighting.

Intervening was not a difficult task. Killing Karas was also not a difficult task. In fact, it may not even take the dragonlord a single minute to incapacitate him.

For Light and Ilias’ sake, she could very well level the entire area if need be. If it would prevent the loss of someone dear to her kin, then she’d willingly endure the guilt of erasing a human settlement off the map.

But what then?

Even if she were to go through with incapacitating Karas, was that really the correct decision? After having told Light to put her trust in her teacher just the past night?

‘Would she manage another loss? After everyone she’s lost already?’

While Serenis struggled to navigate her thoughts, metal and magic once again clashed against each other midair. Black flames sparked forth to crash against Raizel’s claws, torn to bits as they scattered downwards.

But strangely enough, Karas’ flames only melted into the snow. Not a single ember touched person nor structure.

‘…He’s still containing himself.’

Even though Karas was persistently taking advantage of Raizel’s weakness, he was also limiting himself as need be.

Indeed, perhaps the only reason the two seemed to be equally matched right now was because the professor was holding himself back.

“…Is that because you trust that I won’t intervene? Or…”

When Serenis turned her head, she could see Light and Aymeia in the distance, both watching the battle with a frustrated, helpless gaze. Even though the two seemed like they’d jump in at any moment, Ilias and Chell’s warriors were holding each one back.

“…Is it because of those two?”

✧ ✧ ✧

‘Slaver, the hell’s wrong with you? Fight properly.’

“…”

‘Heavens above, you okay? Something’s clearly wrong with you right now. Here, you know what, let me take over and I’ll just-‘

“…SHUT UP!!!”

When Karas suddenly shouted into the air, Raizel momentarily flinched in the middle of her attack.

After lowering her claws, the youngling glared into the levitating monster’s eyes. With Karas gripping his forehead and clawing at his own feathers like a madman, it didn’t take a genius to figure out something was wrong with him.

“You really do have something in there, huh?”

“…What point is there to repeating myself? Just continue.”

“Yeah? But it’s weird. Feels like you’re not giving it everything.”

“…”

Karas lowered his hand to meet the steel dragon’s glare. Levitating at Raizel’s eye level, even when he shifted his gaze downwards, the others were but a small speck in his vision.

Alas, none were too far to be out of reach.

“…Is that what you think? Very well, let’s change that then.”

When Karas next flicked his hands, faint rays of blue flickered about his fingertips. They soon gathered to form several giant icicles midair that soon aimed themselves downwards.

Following suit, the spells launched themselves forth, speeding towards Light and the warriors near her.

Raizel immediately reacted by raking her claws across the air, smashing nearly half the spells mid-flight. But the other half remained in their trajectory, soaring towards their potential victims.

“Ilias! Get the rest!!”

“…Ugh, I know!”

Before her friend even shouted at her, Ilias had already stepped forth to stand before the others. After taking a deep breath, the red dragon blew a torrent of fire forward, intercepting the icicles in their path. And not far away from her, Aymeia likewise summoned a wave of fire over the warriors’ heads, blocking off the ice that rained down on them.

“L, Lady Aymeia. We…”

“Stay still. Don’t let anyone step away from me.”

“But…are you certain we should remain in place? If they are now our enemies, should we not hunt them?”

“…Even if they are, hunts are held so everyone can stay safe. It isn’t a practice for you to throw away your lives against an enemy.”

Chaos ensued as Karas began to launch his array of spells at both Raizel and those far below. While the steel dragon gave her best efforts to keep the monster focused on her, he continued to send additional attacks downward.

And amidst it all, Light was studying her professor’s spells with torn, confused eyes.

‘…Why ice?’

Both Aymeia and Ilias were aspected to fire; there was no way her professor didn’t know of this. Ice spells were the poorest choice possible in attempting to harm those below.

‘I don’t get it…I don’t get any of it. Even all that talk earlier didn’t make any sense. He can’t possibly be trying to…kill me…right?’

Finally, Light’s gaze fell upon the dragonlord in the distance. Serenis was finally raising her gaze upwards towards the feathered figure, as if her long contemplation had finally come to an end.

“…Do something.”

“…”

“Please…”

Quiet, pleading whispers escaped the half girl’s lips. Even though she knew there was no way Serenis would hear her from this distance, Light seemingly couldn’t help herself from speaking outward.

As the dragonlord raised her hand into the air, waves of brilliant glimmers shone from her fingertips. Each light flickered in succession, and they were mirrored within the grey sky above them.

And soon, an enormous pillar of light would crash down from above to smite the levitating monster.