Dragonlord

Ep 78. Live. (1)

Ep 78. Live. (1)

Ep 78. Live. (1)

It was a strange occurrence: a millennium-old reign had come to an end over the course of a single day.

Because it was an easy feat? Couldn’t be.

He was death, the Reaper, and a practical king among the twelve divinities. Even among the other deities, Felicir’s fall had seemed like an impossible dream.

The means to kill the Reaper were few and far between. The means to stop him were even less. Considering the intervention of other deities, standing against Felicir was equivalent to suicide.

‘...And yet it happened...somehow.’

Iris’ eyes scanned over her surroundings. The afternoon sun was brilliantly shining down upon Partivine’s busy streets – though, they weren’t exactly busy in a typical way.

The enforcer let out a small sigh, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Things were finally beginning to clear up.

Nearly half of Partivine had been destroyed by numerous mages under Felicir’s influence. A week prior, these streets had been filled with death and ruin; in the days that followed, wails of grief and loss had filled them.

Now, even those were all but gone. The sunlit streets were instead replaced with sounds of clanging hammers and grunts of construction workers.

One of the said workers then made their way over to the red-haired enforcer, pointing at a pile of wooden beams behind him.

“Enforcer Alpid? We’ll need to move the remaining materials to the next district...”

“Of course. Here.”

With a wave of her hand, a glowing blue portal shimmered into being beside them. As if on cue, several workers gathered around the pile in pairs, lifting the beams to bring them over to their next workplace through Iris’ portal.

Soon, the streets were emptied of its workers. Where they’d left, Iris could see rows of simplistic wooden buildings now replacing the street’s ruins.

“It’s only a temporary fix, but...”

“It’s not too bad, is it?”

When Iris turned around towards the sudden voice, Patrick was curtly waving his hand, approaching his coworker from behind.

“Did you get some sleep last night? Iris?”

Iris furrowed her brows at her friend’s overemphasis on her name. And it worsened when she realized just how silly of an expression Patrick was making as he said it.

“...No, but I’m fine. Also, are you doing that on purpose?”

“You bet I am.”

The red-haired enforcer clasped her aching forehead, followed by a regretful sigh. The reason behind her friend’s teasing behavior was quite simple.

Now, even Patrick knew who Iris really was.

“Who would’ve thought that our esteemed coworker was a literal god? I’ve been wondering how you knew where to find the deity of life, but that all makes sense now.”

“Please shut up. I swear someone’s going to hear us.”

“And what’s wrong with that? This entire city worships you.”

Right now, Serenis was there.

One week had passed since Felicir’s passing; and throughout that week, Patrick had avoided speaking a single word with his sibling. He went out of his way keep himself busy with the city’s repair work.

Of course, Patrick wasn’t the only one who was making an effort to contribute to the city’s recovery. Karas was burdened with addressing the fallen Magic Institute; Raizel was (at Serenis’ fervent request) working to clear up the ruins and rubbles, Otoka was helping with various reconstruction processes, and even Aldrid had gone out of her way to treat those who had been in critical conditions. Iris had returned to administrating the enforcement sector in its entirety while also overseeing the city’s repair progress.

But unlike the others, Patrick’s motives weren’t purely a devotion to his job. Instead, what motivated him right was escaping the situation that loomed behind him.

‘...As if I could see her right now.’

Even Patrick had come to realize how little Serenis seemed to care about her own well-being. Under normal circumstances, it might’ve been something to scold one’s little sibling for: to be more careful, to never do something so reckless as challenging a deity alone.

But ironically, that recklessness had prevented their city’s demise. That recklessness had saved countless lives.

Deities of life and mana had supported Serenis’ decision, providing what aid they could in her endeavors. They’d protected his little sibling from the Reaper’s grasp.

“...”

Patrick’s little sibling was human, and yet, a dragon; family, and yet, a demonlord. And while said sibling was out protecting their city...

‘...I did jack shit.’

Whatever happens, Serenis was his little sibling; whatever happens, Serenis was family to him. But such thoughts only watered Patrick’s worries.

Did a person like him have the right to reprimand his little sibling?

Was it truly right to tell a person – who’d risked their life and sacrificed their arm to save countless others – that they shouldn’t have done so?

“...”

Seeing Patrick sinking deeper into contemplation, Iris guiltily looked away. She felt that she should’ve known better – especially as someone who knew exactly what it was like to have clashing morals prevent one from speaking to their sibling.

“Um, sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Haha, what’re you apologizing for? I just need to think on things a bit more. Go get some rest, Iris. You’ll need it later.”

“...Right.”

Even as Iris opened up a new portal to leave the area, Patrick’s gaze remained fixed towards somewhere else – towards the empty streets where his house had once been.

Perhaps, just like his house, his past life had crumbled without him ever realizing it before. Only now was it beginning to dawn on him.

And just like the house that would be built anew, his life may also need a complete overhaul.

Serenis had made it quite clear that she couldn’t simply live as his little sibling Zion; if anything, she was much closer to her identity as a dragonlord. That much was painfully clear.

Before, Patrick had thought that everything would be alright as long as he continued to treat Serenis as family. He hadn’t been able to see the significance of the matter until now.

‘...Things can’t stay the same, can they?’

His little sibling had drastically changed. He, too, had to change in accordance.

Living as a dragonlord’s brother would be quite different from the life he’d led up to this point.