novelnext Ep 7. Pay Your Respects. (2)
Ep 7. Pay Your Respects. (2)
Ep 7. Pay Your Respects. (2)
Ep 7. Pay Your Respects. (2)
A chilled breeze brushed past Serenis’ cheek. The sun was beginning to set in the distant skies.
But other than the howling winds and the bristling of leaves, the area was dead silent.
“I am not here to ask for servitude, nor allegiance.”
The dragons could do little but to listen. None were permitted to move. Raizel took heart in the fact that they could at least breathe this time.
“And if it be against our kin’s wish, I do not plan to interfere with your way of living.”
Some seemed relieved. Some seemed confused. And yet, more seemed terrified at the fact that there was a being who could bind their brethren at will.
Once again, the dragonlord let out an exasperated sigh.
‘I’m no different than a tyrant like this.’
During her life, Serenis was accepted by all of her kin as their ruler. The kin trusted her, and she trusted them. There was mutual acceptance in her rule.
But this was nothing of that sort. She was a stranger that had barged into the home of dragons to suddenly announce that she was their lord.
“But, loath as I am to admit it...I need your assistance. As you can all see, my flesh is that of a mere human child’s. I’ve lost most of my former strength, and I plan to reclaim it by finding my heart.”
What separated the first lords from the rest of their kin?
There was a very clear distinction between the first lords and their brethren: their lifespan was not finite. Unless deliberately killed, the first lords lived indefinitely, and Serenis was no exception.
It wasn’t that their body wasn’t prone to deterioration. However, the first lords possessed a distinct heart – an infinite source of life that restored their deteriorating bodies to its prime constantly, and provided them with more mana than most archmages would ever dream of.
Even if her corpse had withered away, Serenis assumed that her heart would still remain somewhere in this world. Although her original assumption that it’d be in the current dragonlord’s possession was proven false.
“If any of you know of its whereabouts, I implore you to speak. If it’s in your possession, then I implore you to return it to its rightful owner.”
Dead silence.
No one had it. No one even knew where it was. The silence couldn’t possibly be false in the premise of her spell that was still in effect.
“...It doesn’t have to be an exact location. Even an idea of where such an object may be will do.”
Finally, the more elderly dragons began to speak.
“It may be within the frozen remains of our ancestral kin.”
“If it’s anywhere...”
“That would be my only guess as well.”
‘Ancestral kin?’
Serenis eyed the dragon that had first spoken.
“And I’m glad I do! Imagine if I looked like you, father. Blegh.”
“Hey, I don’t look that awful.”
“Yeah? Why don’t you get another daughter who looks just like you?”
“...Let’s get going, shall we? The seal isn’t far from here.”
Bruton hurriedly changed the subject. He curiously looked down at Serenis.
“Can you fly?”
“I can.”
“Good.”
Large, black wings jutted forth from Bruton’s back. Ilias unfolded her crimson red wings as well, and Serenis used a spell to grant herself the same luminescent wings.
Meanwhile, Raizel grabbed Ilias by the waist with both her arms.
“...Curse it, I should’ve flown off faster.”
“Still haven’t learned your lesson, have you.”
Serenis stared at the two younglings in confusion.
Noticing her gaze, Ilias let out a nervous laughter.
“Oh, this is, um...Raizel doesn’t have wings.”
Doesn’t have wings?
How can a dragon not have wings?
Actually, before that...
“Then...Raizel, how did you tackle me midair?”
“Oh, that? I jumped.”
“From...?”
“? The ground, of course.”
“You jumped from the ground...to tackle someone flying in the air?”
Serenis looked towards Ilias and Bruton for clarification. Both of them shrugged at her.
“She’s always been like this.”
“One of a kind, that girl.”
“...”
As they took off, Serenis began to seriously worry about her kin’s future.