Chapter 4: Dragon Hunting? More like Waifu Collecting!
The leader of the Medusa family tapped his finger on the wooden table as he gruntled in frustration.
"I swear, if Bessara is five minutes more late I will…"
The words went unsaid but the concept was pretty explicit seeing how his right eye continued to twitch.
"Peace friend, I am most worried for Paramount actually, he has always prided himself on his punctuality… for him to be this late he must have encountered trouble on the way here, that would explain Bessara's lateness too."
The leader of the Gonzori family continued.
They had no further time to dwell on the topic as the door was blown off its hinges followed by two of their men flying and smashing on the other side of the room.
"W-what-"
Gonzori began before he was interrupted by a giant of a man entering the room.
The man had black hair and was completely covered in a dark leather armor with metal plates covering his vitals. A black imprint of a hand covering his entire torso, to complete the image he had a giant sword on his back. More men followed behind him, most of them masked and fully cloaked, all of them sporting the same dark imprint on their chests.
"Oh, it seems we found the mice, greetings!"
The man saluted with a dismissing wave of his gloved hand before dropping on one of the free chairs and putting both of his feet on the table.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! GUARDS!"
Medus was the first to come up of his stupor and cry for help as he unsheathed his blade.
"Put down that little toy before you cut yourself… and I am afraid all your men are either sleeping, drowning in their blood, or dead by now."
The black-haired man barely seemed to acknowledge the threat, or lack thereof, of the crime lord.
His word sounded like madness to Gonzori's ears, but seeing how no one answered Medusa's call, he could not exclude the possible truth behind them.
He had always been the most calculating of the four families controlling the south of the capital. But even he was hard pressed to not lose his cool in such a situation..
"Name's Mato by the way, I am the commander in chief of the Black Hand."
The man said casually as if that was a name everyone should recognize at a mere mention, though Gonzori was sure he never heard of such organization before.
"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHO YOU ARE-"
Medusa began to yell but was interrupted again by the black haired man who presented himself as Mato.
"Kurz."
He called the name with absolute calm, a second later a yellow bolt passed by Gonzori, Medusa's scream forced the other crime lord to turn away from the giant of a man only to see his fellow leader's hand being twisted till he dropped his blade by a blonde man who proceeded to smash his face on the wooden table with an audible crack.
If it wasn't clear enough before now Gonzori was fully sure they were outclassed.
"Sir Mato, I don't think I ever had the pleasure…"
Gonzori said as he gulped. Even though acting so submissive left an incredibly rancid taste in his mouth, he had no intention of being the next whose head was getting smashed against the table.
"Ah, I sometimes forget that you people never heard of us… my bad really… to make a long story short, we are the Black Hand, a branch of the organization known as Seven Hands… we basically control the entirety of the Re-Estize kingdom's underground and criminality."
The man said casually, waving his hand. That was a name Gonzori recognized, the name of the kingdom the Empire's was at war with… a very powerful entity if the tales of the massacres on the battlefields were to be believed… and this man claimed he was part of an organization that controlled the underground of an entire kingdom capable of obliterating the empire.
It sounded absurd to his ears, but he had no grounds to stand on and question the man's words.
"I see, an esteemed guest… if you had announced your visit we could have arranged for a great reception in your honor."
Gonzori continued as he tried to stall for time in hope of Paramount and Bessara arriving. His words made the whole group of cloaked men chuckle much to his confusion.
"Oh, I think we announced our presence alright… not that it was well received."
Mato said as he gestured for one of his men to approach. Said masked man immediately obeyed as he dragged a sack behind him. The masked man untied the sack and grabbed something from inside before throwing it on the table.
Gonzori took a second to recognize what was just launched before him, his face completely loosing the little color he had as he was faced with the dead and horrified stare of two very familiar faces.
The heads of Paramount and Bessara stared back at him, no signs of life in those blank terrified eyes. He even heard Medusa cease his struggle at the sight presented to them.
"We of Seven Hands have few rules… two of which are that no slavery or drug production will be tolerated under our jurisdiction."
The giant of a man said calmly, as if he didn't just present him with the heads of two of the most powerful crime lords in the capital.
"H-how can I help you?"
Gonzori asked as he felt a void open under his stomach as the criticism of the situation just took a dive into an abyss.
"Follow our orders from now on, Seven Hands will take care of you and do right as long as you follow orders… we have the need of the entirety of the capital's underground and your insight on how things work around here."
The man said, continuing in his casual tone, as if he just didn't order done what most crime families tried to achieve in centuries.
"W-we only have control over the s-southern capital."
Gonzori began as he had no intention to lead on this dangerous man on false hopes. Again, his words merely elicited a chuckle from most of the masked men. Mato didn't speak this time as he merely gave a short nod to the man holding the sack who proceeded to empty its content over the table.
Gonzori felt urine run down his legs at the sight of the mountain of head that just piled up on the table.
"As you can see, we have already spoken with your friends, most of them are here with us actually… the rest have gently assured their cooperation."
Mato continued as he gave Gonzori a small grin while the blonde man holding down Medusa proceeded to spit on one of the heads who was missing both eyes, nose, and ears.
"Kurz, have some manners at the table… you have to excuse him, that particular man had given grave insult to his wife… I heard he had him flayed alive and then healed to repeat the process multiple times until the man's mind broke… a real shame… but it is part of our job to take care of pests and little kids playing at being grownups."
Mato continued as Gonzori felt his dinner stirring in his stomach at the sight.
"So, do we have an understanding?"
Asked Mato, his gaze now piercing Gonzori's soul as the crime lord could only nod in hope of ending this nightmare.
"Good."
The black-haired man said with a small smile before rising and patting Gonzori's shoulder.
"You are playing with the big boys now… don't forget it."
He said before turning around and marching toward the exit.
Gonzori could only remain there, stewing in his own waste as he felt like he would wake from this nightmare at one moment or another… it was useless to say, that moment never came.
{Schwarzt Forest}
{Pina's P.O.V.}
It was madness. Her life was madness. There was no other word to describe the turn her life has taken in the last months.
If someone prophesied six months ago that her empire would be on the verge of collapse and that she would be offered as a sacrifice to a walking catastrophe far greater than a flame dragon, she would have called said someone insane and a complete fraud.
But, against all possible odds, she was here, in the kingdom of Elbe… following said walking catastrophe in pursuit of two young flame dragons.
It was utterly maddening!
As it was, she barely managed to convince the mage to let her come. She had to bring up the fact that two flame dragons were a calamity and, as a princess, she would have to report their fate to the empire once she returned to court. And so, she would have to witness the outcome with her own eyes for a better report and account of the events.
Even that had been barely enough to convince Satoru to let her and her order accompany him. The only saving grace of that situation was that the princess of the kingdom was not allowed to come due to it being a dangerous expedition. In fact, other than her order, the only ones present were the mage's apprentices, the blue-haired girl that followed them around, and of course Rory Mercury, the apostle of Emroy.
This last one had been quite an amusing addition if it wasn't for the fact Pina was praying for her life during the whole exchange of the two. The argument that was about to escalate only ending when Rory proclaimed she would help him transport the dragons back safely.
And wasn't that just the cherry on top! They were going there to capture the dragons and use them like farming animals! It was absolutely deranged and insane! Not that she would ever dare voice such a sentiment.
"This way, just a bit further to the north."
Their guide, the dark elf Yao, said as she pointed at a certain part of the forest where the trees were visibly scarcer leaving place to a rockier terrain.
They were currently flying using some strange magical artifacts Satoru had brought out that morning. To say Pina and her knights had not been terrified when they levitated on it and began flying faster than a wyvern, would be a lie. But fear could only last so long, and after hours all that remained was awe at the magic and the sight only beasts like wyverns or dragons could enjoy.
As they neared the indicated area, the magical board they were riding descended till it touched the ground.
Greeting her were no less than twenty dark elves with their bows drawn and ready.
Yao immediately rendered herself visible as all the elves focus seemed to be focused on Satoru and his apprentices. The group immediately relaxed at the sight of their comrade and all of them were soon escorted to the dark elves' village.
To be sure, Pina had known that elves preferred to live more spartanly and at contact with nature compared to the opulent empire. But she didn't expect for the place to look like a camp rather than a village. She refrained from saying anything and a glare to her knights silenced anything they were or weren't about to say. Satoru was interested in this venture, and if they did anything to hinder him their goal and tenuous relationship with the mage would only suffer from it.
They were soon escorted to a tent larger than the others, but still, Pina had to leave her knights out as there would not be enough space inside for everyone.
When they finally entered, they were greeted by the elders of the tribe.
"Yao Haa Dushi, we prayed for your return, we thank the Gods for hearing our words."
The elder in the middle spoke as Yao bowed her head.
"Elders, I have returned successful from my mission, I bring with me the greatest mage to ever walk this world, the Doom that came to Falmart himself, slayer of the Flame Dragon, Master Satoru and his companions."
The dark elf introduced them much to the elders' awe.
"As leader of the council I welcome you with the deepest of respects Master Satoru, your aid will never be forgotten by the generations to come."
The elder immediately greeted and bowed his head toward the mage.
"The pleasure is mine elder, I will make sure to relieve you from this scourge that befell you."
The masked man answered with his usual cold and dark tone that sent shivers down Pina's spine, and knowing what her duty was… she could not hide the fact those shivers weren't completely unpleasant.
Delighted whispers erupted among the dark elves at the mage's declaration.
"We are glad to hear it Master Satoru, we know our treasure may not be enough to pay for the services of someone of your caliber, so if you have any further demands, please state them now."
The elder continued, the fact they were ready to accept any demand indiscriminately only served to highlight their desperation.
"Ah, esteemed elders, regarding the treasure…"
Yao intervened as all dark elves' eyes returned on her as she took out of her cloak the abovementioned gem and presented it back to the elders who didn't move an inch from their position.
"Master Satoru has no need for it… h-he told me that he would accept any magical items in our possession as mere money is w-worthless to him…"
Yao stuttered out as the elders' eyes widened as they looked at each other, seemingly unsure on how to proceed.
"But we don't possess any such item."
The leader said as his eyes seemed to pierce through Yao's skull.
"That is what I told him as well, but Master Satoru, in his clemency, decided to aid us nonetheless."
At Yao's words, the attention shifted back to Satoru's large form.
"So, if even our most prized possession would not be enough… what price will we have to pay to ensure our tribe's survival?"
The elder asked as his eyes filled with resignation and acceptance of whatever demand was made.
"Master Satoru only wishes to capture the dragons alive and bring them back with him."
Yao revealed much to the naked shock of everyone, not that Pina could blame them. she thought she went half mad the first time she heard it, not that everything the mage said or did before weren't detrimental to her sanity, mind you!
"A-alive? B-but why?"
The leader of the dark elves stuttered out as his calm façade completely crumbled at the absurd notion.
"I intend to use them as farm animals and cattle, what else would I be using them for… their scales and skin are prime materials for magical items… their bones and hearts are incredibly useful as well, unfortunately we cannot harvest those without killing the specimen… maybe once a batch of eggs are laid we might kill one to get those…"
The masked mage half explained half mused to himself.
The silence that followed that proclamation was deafening. Even Pina did not know the details of what he aimed to do with the dragons once he had them, apart farming them of course. To hear that he would go through all of this for ingredients in order to create magical items was… as much admirable as it was completely insane.
"Farming…"
"Cattle…"
She heard the stunned elders repeat the words as if they could not comprehend their meaning.
"What about all those who died?! Those who were eaten?! Those who were burned?! What justice will they have?!"
The one to break the silence was a young dark elf who shouted those wors directly at Satoru with hatred burning in his eyes.
"Gom!"
The leader immediately sent the youngster a killing glare that seemingly took him aback but didn't make him back down.
"No grandfather! I cannot accept this! After all this torment! After all the friends I have seen die! I cannot accept to see those beasts live when I know they could be dead! This is unfair!"
The youngster protested vehemently.
"Unfair you say? Then why don't you go out there and kill them yourself?"
The one to intervene was none other than Satoru who asked that question with the same tone he used during any light hearted conversation they had.
No one answered his question, an heavy silence fell once more over the entire tent.
"It is because you are weak, the weak has no say in how the world works, or what is fair and unfair… you are only a spectator who demands for the actor on stage to do as you wish ignoring the fact said actor has his own agenda and goals… this behavior… this entitlement… disgusts me."
The words cut through the silence like hot knives through butter.
"Even when I was weak, I fought tooth and nail for every last scrap… even when the battle seemed unwinnable, I never laid down awaiting my death, I fought till my last breath, regardless if it was fair or unfair… I used every last trick at my disposal to come out on top."
The mage continued as no one dared retort to his words.
"Have you tried everything? Did you try poisoning their food sources? Have you tried ambushing them and targeting their weak points, like their eyes, when they slept? No… I imagine not… you only limited yourself to flee every time you came across them… only fight like you were cornered like rats."
Pina never heard his tone shift once, even though his words were harsh and unforgiving.
"This world is not a fair place… those born with strength can just rule over the weak… and those who were born weak can only strive toward strength… so you see, going by the law of this world, I can indeed do as I please, regardless of your own opinion on the matter… that is because you are weak."
The crimson haired princess wasn't even the recipient of those words, but she felt like each one of them just cut through her flesh.
The young dark elf on the other hand looked furious at Satoru's words, he unsheathed a dagger from his belt and launched it directly at Satoru before anyone could stop him.
Pina's mouth opened as she wanted to warn the mage about the incoming danger but before she could utter a word the dagger impacted something invisible and bounced off impaling itself in the ground.
Chaos erupted in the room as many dark elves subdued the attacker who was struggling to get free and probably try again.
She was about to order her knights to intervene when everyone stopped as loud but slow claps reverberated in the tent. The one applauding was none other than the masked mage.
"That is it… that is exactly it! That rage, that ferocity, that unyielding will to fight and win instead of running away! The will to fight a battle even when all odds are against you if it means saving your companions… that undying defiance against this unfair world!"
For the first time since she met the man, his tone differed from his usual one or the soft one she heard when he told stories to those children. He sounded animated, alive, even passionate.
"Struggle on, learn and adapt, use every scrap of information to evolve until your opponents, no matter their might, has nothing to use against you… that is the way to trample the unfairness of this world!"
The mage declared, as everyone seemed too stunned by his words to do anything.
"You fought against me even knowing I could kill you with the wave of a hand… while I do not agree on your motives for doing it, as it was foolish to be so easily provoked, I can still see it is a step in the right direction."
Satoru continued his explanation with less fervor than before, like a teacher pointing out a flaw in their student's argument.
"But Master, didn't you teach us the value of a tactical retreat?"
Asked the male apprentice just to be interrupted by the female one.
"It is if you learn something from it, but if you just are as clueless as before it is no longer a tactical retreat, that is just running away."
She said with certainty in her voice.
"You are both partially right, it is true that fighting an enemy you know you can't defeat head on is foolish, and it is also true that a tactical retreat means you have a plan for the next encounter… or to at least avoid it… but that is not the point in this situation."
Satoru corrected them both as he took a short pause as if he was trying to emphasize what he was about to say next.
"If you retreat to live and fight another day, that makes you a smart one… but if you retreat to live and fight another day while your friends and companions die in order to save you, that just makes you scum."
Pina felt like physically recoiling at the intensity of Satoru's tone as he imparted his lesson on his students who eagerly nodded at his words.
"Now then, returning to the main subject… tell me all you know about where I can find these dragons."
The mage demanded with his usual tone as if nothing happened in the last minutes, the gems acting as his eyes in his mask shining brightly as they reflected the fire in the middle of the tent.
{Alnus Hill}
{Renner's P.O.V.}
The third princess was not in a good mood. Blast that! She was pissed off!
'Again! It happened again!' she raged inside her mind as she was once more separated from the one she loved the most in this world.
They didn't get ti! No one could understand! That urge she felt for his touch, that affection that was like life essence flowing through her at every pat and stroke of her hair from him.
That pure bliss she felt every time he was near her. The sound of his voice traveling through her bones like the sweetest of melodies. How she only felt alive when he was with her. Giving her praise. Giving her attention. Giving her love.
'And they took it from me! Oh, I will show them… they will see! My hatred will burn them all to ashes!' her darker thoughts began to emerge again. Ideas to push the war to an escalation that would bring this flimsy continent, ruled by little men believing themselves giants, to its knees.
"C'mon Renner, stop sulking like that! I didn't get my bed story either yesterday!"
Lakyus, bless her naïve and bright soul, tried to comfort her with a hug, managing at least to remove the frown that came over the princess' face.
"I am not sulking."
She protested vehemently at the accusation.
"You totally are."
The knight rebutted with a sigh of exasperation.
"Am not!"
Rener negated again even though a small smile was beginning to crawl over her lips.
'Damn it Lakyus! I can't be mad at you!' the princess thought as her friend once more managed in something only Satoru could do. Not that her method worked as good as his, but Renner would give credit when credit was due. That is why Lakyus was her only friend after all.
She was the one who volunteered to stay back with Renner after the princess was denied permission to accompany Satour, due to it being too dangerous.
The fact Lakyus decided to refrain from doing something she would clearly enjoy, and maybe just have one shot at in her life, for keeping Renner company was something the princess would not forget.
"So, do you have any news from back home?"
Her knight asked prompting Renner to huff in annoyance.
The fact the little crimson bitch managed to pull one over her still irked the blonde princess to no end. Not that the little whore would have succeeded without Raeven landing a hand to undermine Renner's authority.
That was something she will make the marquis repent for once this mess was over. He should not be surprised once revolts erupt all over his territory in the years to come. She had apparently been to lenient with the vicious snake if he felt eagerness to defy her!
But what was done was done, her father had been notified. And as she expected he had accepted the parley offer. Not that Renner will make it easier for any parties to come to an agreement. Fool her once, shame on you, fooled twice, I will gauge out your eyes, or so the saying went if she remembered it right.
"Father will arrive in E-Libera in the following days, there we will conduct negotiations."
She explained with as little enthusiasm as she could muster.
"I hope we an stop this war then."
Her always-positive knight said hopefully, much to Renner's exasperation.
"They will fail."
She rebutted without hesitation much to Lakyus' surprise as she looked at her with that hurt-puppy like eyes of hers that made Renner want to pet her.
"Sadera is a warmongering country full of prideful idiots that already showed us they would rather burn their own lands and famish their people rather then admit defeat or at least try to negotiate for peace."
She explained to her friend.
"Their princess has no power as she isn't even the heir to the throne or has any political standing seeing like she dedicated herself to martial pursuit rather than political ones."
She immediately waved off the rebuttal she was sure Lakyus would use.
"And even if it was their emperor calling for a negotiation, I would not be surprised if an uprising or even a civil war comes out of it."
She continued to put into words how things were. Truly, Raeven should have known this as he was not a complete idiot, but apparently, he wanted to undermine her so much that he would even make himself look like a fool to do it.
Silence followed her words as Lakyus just sprawled on their shared bed looking right up at the ceiling.
"I see, the situation looks quite grim… I will still hope for a miracle."
She finally said her peace, ever the optimist. But she would not have her friend any other way, it was part of her weird charm after all.
'A miracle… the only miracle would be Satoru coming back and dropping this whole thing' though she thought as much, she knew that it would not happen as the act would be detrimental to them both. After they went so far, coming back was impossible, or it would require much more effort than just finishing the job to begin with.
She sighed heavily as she fell face first into the bed. She inhaled deeply, but Satoru's smell was already long gone. 'I can't even have one joy in this world…' she lamented as she rolled on the bed till she reached Lakyus and rested her face against the teenager's chest.
She closed her eyes trying to imagine being enveloped by Satoru's soft robes. It didn't work obviously, but Lakyus will do for now… as a temporary substitute.
Once her love came back, she would make sure to end this farce once and for all. To hell with negotiations, and to hell with this stupid empire!
{Mount Tube}
{Rory's P.O.V.}
The apostle of Emroy followed the guide up the mountain with her usual smile. In over nine centuries of life on this world she could hardly say she ever lived a more exciting period, and she had been there to witness the Empire's expansionistic period! That would certainly say something about her previous statement!
What made this so special was not only the gate and those who came from it, but one specific person. The one that was currently walking right next to her. A moving disaster in human shape, the one who claimed the epithet of Doom and garnered the fear of those who heard his name.
An existence she was sure could defeat most apostles in this world, and she would know, seeing how she was one of the strongest currently not ascended. That alone would garner her attention seeing how he was no apostle himself. But to add to that, this man, this Satoru was also an incredibly fascinating man.
She had been first searching for him due to his infamy and wide spreading name, and his rumored almighty power. What she found was so much more. A being who walked like a god among men, an example of what a perfect apostle would be, apart from his allegiance to a country, but that could hardly be blamed on him as he had no obligation unlike the apostles.
She observed him slay a beast that was almost as ancient as herself, not to save lives like a hero, nor to prove his strength and add more terror to his name.
No, what guided him was curiosity, the curiosity to explore the world and experiment on how he could change it. Something Rory had lost interest in centuries ago seeing how little it mattered in the long run, and how people will be just people and return to their ways.
Not to mention the overwhelming miasma that enveloped him. Something not even the most blood lusted and murderous beasts possessed. How it drew her in, as if wanting to consume her too. She had no idea how many thousands, no, even millions of violent deaths he must have brought to have such an aura around him.
When she tried to purify him, she could hardly take in a few drops before being completely overwhelmed by the intensity of it. A feeling she only thought possible while witnessing a bloody war. She was pretty sure her body would collapse on itself if she tried to even absorb half of it.
But seeing his aura, she expected a blood lusted monster, a beast hunting for blood and death. Instead she found a man of logic and sound reasoning, who would kill only to avoid further chaos from spreading to the world.
A man of order, while at the same time being capable of such magnitude of destruction to not unbalance the world.
Someone, she was sure, her own God Emroy would approve of in a heartbeat. While many might disagree, the representation of darkness, carnage, and insanity that was her God was not a synonym of chaos. For, in a world completely overwhelmed by chaos, those same concept her God embodied would become completely meaningless. In a world of chaos, darkness and light would be no different from each other, as would life and death and so forth.
So, the Gods created them, the apostles, to look over the balance of this world. And in exchange for a thousand years of servitude, they will be rewarded with an ascension to a higher form of existence.
So, to see someone embody that balance so well could only bring immense joy to her heart.
And yet, even after that, this man never stopped to amaze her. For he had just shown another facet of his wiseness the day before.
He managed to explain what many philosophers had tried to with their fancy words. Always falling short due to their bad habit of overcomplicating matters with their unneeded metaphors and big words.
She agreed with all he said on how this world was ruled by the strong and how the weak could only strive toward strength. But then, he surprised her gain when he encouraged the elf who tried to kill him for his words.
Even the most patient of men would have acted when provoked or threatened so openly. But no, Satoru took the chance to praise the power behind that decision of facing the insurmountable. Using it as ana example of the driving force of those who were born weak.
She never thought she could be aroused by a speech that wasn't a recollection of a particularly bloody battle, but the mage proved her wrong in that instant.
Oh, how she wanted to fight him till their bodies gave out in exhaustion… and then, with all their clothes ruined by the ferocious battle, she would mount him and enact the most sacred of primal acts… the glory of that scenario made itself known to the current her as she had to stop fantasizing before making a mess.
As she calmed herself down she noticed how the man in question was glancing at her from time to time.
"You like what you see?"
She questioned with a sly smirk as the man did not lose any of his composure.
"That dress…"
He began making Rory's smirk enlarge even more.
"A gift from my Patron God Emroy, we consider it a ceremonial outfit in the temple, I took quite a liking to it… but if you like to take a better look, I could always take it off now for you."
She felt some squeaks from behind them, probably the Saderan princess and those virgin friends of hers, truly, those ones had no idea what they were dealing with when it came to Satoru.
"That… won't be necessary… I just have seen something similar before… in another context."
The man said cautiously, as if pondering every word. Actually, that interested the apostle, as she never heard of anyone else using that specific outfit outside the faith of Emroy.
"Oh? And pray tell, what they were used for when you saw them?"
She asked intrigued but before the man could answer their guide interrupted them.
"We are here, this is the entrance that leads to the flame dragons' nest."
The male dark elf said as he indicated the entrance to a cave.
"Very well then, please lead the way, if the dragons are inside sleeping, it will be far easier to capture them."
Satoru said as the dark elf and Yao nodded at him. Rory pouted as she laid against the mountain wall just outside the cave.
"What are you doing?"
She heard the dark voice of Satoru ask as he was about to enter the cave.
"I can't go inside any natural enclosed or underground spaces or I risk being kidnapped by Hardy."
She explained with a sigh of resignation.
"Hardy?"
The masked man questioned much to her amusement, she had never met someone who didn't know the name of the goddess of the underworld before. The thought was quite amusing as if for the man before her the very concept of death was something foreign and of little concern.
"Goddess of the Underworld, she collects the souls of the deceased… she tried to snatch me multiple times during the centuries to make me her bride, though, as you can imagine, I have no interest."
She briefly explained.
"I see, this is quite fascinating… do the gods of this world feel lust or any other mortal emotion? Can they even have children?"
He questioned as she gave him a smirk.
"What? Interested in bedding a Goddess? I am afraid Hardy dislikes men to the extreme… but I can play the part for you in forty or so years."
She teased as the man just shrugged and left her there much to her amusement.
"What a peculiar man… after all it might not be true that men with great power are often men of great lust… maybe it only applies to men with huge egos."
She mused to herself as she remained alone, the echoing sound of the steps inside the cave getting softer and softer until they disappeared.
Rory remained there waiting for their return as she mused to herself on how to convince the mage to fight her and then calm their flowing blood with a good session of-
"Hello… Sister."
Her crimson eyes immediately widened at those words as she spun around, the blade of a scythe descending upon her.
{Saderan Imperial Palace}
{Molt Sol Augustus' P.O.V.}
The emperor sat imperiously with a stoic expression as he observed his senate squabble like petulant children.
It was disgraceful, how the might had fallen. Not that he absolved himself from his own errors of judgement. He had been too hasty in trying to show strength after their defeat at Alnus. After all, some sharks in the senate waited only for some drops of blood in the ocean to start pouncing on him.
His scorched earth tactic had backfired most magnificently. Not only the major cities of the empire were filled with refuges, but a famine was starting to spread.
He should have taken in account that the first target of the enemy would have been Italica, but to have them fall so easily… he would have hoped for the city to remain under siege for at least some months.
That was only part of the problem as the famine, even without Italica, could have been stopped with the old reliable method of commerce. True, it would hurt the coffers of the empire quite a bit, but it was always better than a famine… famine meant disorder, and disorder meant revolts which they could not afford.
They tried to buy food from their vassal states and neighboring countries, all of them had refused their offers and barred their borders. A clear sign of disdain from their neighbors and an open act of rebellion from their vassals.
And that was exactly what they were discussing right now. As the more proactive part of the senate, his foolish firstborn included, was demanding for their legions to march and teach their vassals and neighbors a lesson, while the most moderate part of the senate demanded caution as this would leave them completely open to any attacks from their current enemy. Not counting the major disorders, a lack of military personnel would create.
In all of this, traces of his daughter disappeared after her arrival in Italica. Seeing how the city was conquered, she was either captured, or she was working on her objective… maybe both. Seeing how the enemy didn't attack any other major city after Italica, Molt was inclined to think Pina was at work.
Seeing how the situation spiraled out of control, her mission was no longer an opportunity, but rather a necessity at this point. The empire was in serious danger.
Not counting the extremely suspicious activities of their vassals and neighbors. For all of them to deny the empire trade, they must all have seen the empire's current weakness and thought it was the perfect moment to revolt. A foolish notion seeing how most of their military had been obliterated at Alnus. They must all have bet on the capitulation of Sadera.
Which meant… they won't move a muscle until the empire was defeated, which made their next move extremely predictable.
A weaker man would have smiled at the realization, but Molt didn't become emperor by letting himself go to certain frivolous feeling such as satisfaction.
He stood up from his throne demanding the silence a man of his stature and importance deserved.
He waited as all the shouts died down.
"My dear senators, the gravity of the situation is clear to me as I think it is to all of you… but we cannot let this setback hinder us, nor our beloved Sadera!"
He began making sure he had the attention of every single one of the senators.
"The most cautious of you give sound council, the defiance of our vassals truly unacceptable… but striking them now would be pointless."
He could see the surprise on many of the senators' faces as he seldomly agreed with the more moderate side.
"Father!"
Zorzal tried to speak but Molt silenced him with a killing glare that shut his stupid son up.
"But that does not mean we will remain still as our people suffer! No, the enemy will once more fear our rage! We will reclaim what was stolen from us! Italica and its lands will be our next target! And once we push back the enemy to Alnus we will turn toward our unruly vassals and make them regret ever even thinking to defy us!"
He declared to the cheer and applause of the proactive side, while the moderate seemed partially disgruntled but seemingly satisfied with the outcome.
Molt sat back on his throne, he will try to buy some more time with a siege. He only hoped Pina was at a good stage of her mission, if they lost this battle… well, he knew what would await him and his.
{Mount Tube}
{Lelei's P.O.V.}
The usually silent mage looked at the sight of an empty next, skeletal remains scattered all over the place alongside two cracked open eggs.
"It seems we are out of luck, the dragons aren't here."
The masked mage known as Satoru said casually as he looked around the place sounding almost disappointed. Lelei could hardly think of anyone else who would be disappointed at not finding themself face to face with two flame dragons.
"Master, do we collect the eggs?"
Asked an eager Rayne. Lelei rather liked the boy, it wasn't every day she found someone magically inclined around her age so eager to discuss magical theories. Though his constant habit of stuttering and being verbose made it not doable for large amount of times.
"Eggs are usually useless, but gather some samples nonetheless, we can check for magical properties later."
Ordered the masked mage as the two apprentices immediately went to obey followed by Lelei.
"That is too big you dolt, he said sample, not a table board1"
She heard Arche reprimand the boy who just picked up a piece of egg as large as his upper body.
"Yeah, but this is cool! I don't think anyone can boast about having dragon eggs back home!"
The boy said enthusiastically.
"May I have a piece?"
Lelei asked, offering her hand to the boy who immediately went red and dropped the shell making it shatter on the ground.
"O-of course!"
He immediately went down to grab a triangle shaped piece as big as his hand.
"W-will this do?"
He asked shyly as he offered the shard to Lelei who nodded and grabbed it. She will make sure to have at least one in case it turns out to be useful.
She heard Arche mutter something about stupid eager boys and pretty faces under her breath but she didn't give it much thought.
All of a sudden, a roar echoed through the cave system making everyone's ears perk up. She saw as the princess' knights closed around her in a defensive position.
"It came from outside!"
Said Yao as her elf ears probably were better at tracing the sound of the roar.
"Well then, it seems it is my turn now."
Said Satoru before flying outside the crater they found themselves in while all the others began to run toward the tunnel they came from.
Lelei ran as fast as she could as she wanted to observe more of the powerful mage's magic. Only by observing him she had managed to adapt some of her spells to recreate some of the spells he used. It was a pale imitation of course, after all her magical power was still limited but witnessing more magic could only inspire her more. And maybe she could manage to impress him enough for him to take her as an apprentice too.
As they didn't need to be stealthy this time around, they were out of the cave in barely five minutes.
The terrain was already quite destroyed as she could clearly see scorched marks every here and there.
"There!"
Yao cried out as she indicated five figures in the distance.
Tow of them were clearly Satoru and Rory Mercury, while the other three belonged to the two juvenile dragons, as expected, and the third to a woman. Not that Lelei ever saw one stranger than that, hell, she could say she was female only due to her clearly almost exposed feminine features as the rest of her body was completely draconic in nature.
Without further ado their group began to run toward the figures facing each other.
"Greetings, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, I am Satoru, a wondering magic caster."
As they neared the group, Lelei clearly heard the dark voice of Satoru introducing himself.
"I didn't ask for your name! Just what are you doing, interfering in a sacred duel between apostles?!"
The scantily clothed dragon woman demanded with a scowl.
"My, I might have misheard you, but I think your first question was… and I quote… who the hell are you?... but regardless, to answer your question… this didn't seem much of a sacred duel seeing how you three were ganging up on Rory here."
The masked caster explained calmly making Rory erupt in laugher much to the other woman's ire.
"These are my tamed dragons! Of course, I am allowed to use them… why am I even explaining myself to you?! You two! Kill him!"
The dragon woman ordered as the two young dragons immediately opened their maws.
Lelei was ready to see a sea of flame erupt toward Satoru and was as confused as anyone else when nothing happened.
"What are you two doing?! Use your fire!"
The apostle commanded impatiently.
"My apologies, they are quite incapable of that at the moment, you see, I just casted a spell that blocks any type of low tier fire spell from being casted in a radius around me… that includes dragon fire unfortunately for you."
Satoru, always the teacher, explained much to everyone's astonishment.
"I must learn that!"
Lelei heard Rayne mutter under his breath before being bonked on the head by Arche's catalyst.
"W-what?! N-no such spell exists!"
The blue skinned woman with short white hair cried out.
"I am afraid you are misinformed."
The mage said as if he was taunting her.
"You two! Charge!"
The furious apostle cried out, but before the two dragons could even take a step a familiar dark voice intervened.
"[Twin magic: Lightning Cage]"
As the spell was uttered two cages with bars made out of lightning appeared around the two juvenile dragons making them panic and try to escape only for them to touch the lightning acting as bars and get shocked.
The two dragons screeched and trashed as they tried to breath fire again to no avail. After almost a minute of screeching and rampaging, both dragons lied down quietly whimpering, as much as a dragon could be quiet.
Lelei's jaw was hanging open at the display of skill and control as she hardly ever heard of active magic capable of remaining active for so long without extreme strain on the user, and those cases always concerned minor spells, this… this was on another level completely!
She was sure none of the other in her group were in a better shape than hers and even the blue skinned dragon woman was lookingin complete shock at the display and subduing of her tamed dragons, her golden eyes wide in utter astonishment at the event taking place before her.
"Ahahahah… how about this Giselle?! Now we can have that sacred duel you so much wished for! Just you and me!"
Yelled Rory with a bloodthirsty grin as the apostle, now known as Giselle, took a step back in clear fright.
"Stop."
The order was absolute, so much that even Lelei felt the need to stop breathing.
Satoru had never sounded so serious before, so… intense.
The dark robed man placed a hand on Rory's shoulder pushing her down and making her sit on the ground, something that the apostle, strangely, accepted without retorts.
"Your name is Giselle then, am I right?"
Satoru asked as his attention immediately returned to the white-haired apostle who looked even more frightened at the sight of an obeying Rory.
"I-I am Giselle! A-apostle of Hardy!"
The dragon woman tried to sound ss menacing as possible, failing miserably due to her stuttering and clearly frightened face.
"You are a Dragonoid… and even a Tamer… kukuku… ahahah… AHAHAHAH! Magnificent!"
Lelei almost jumped at the unexpected outburst of clear joy from the usually so stoic magic caster. It was almost uncanny to hear him show so much emotion.
"I-I am a Draconian.."
Giselle's words were almost lost under the sound of the dragons' whimpering.
"Ah! A race native to this world then… even better! It has been such a long time since my eyes basked at such an exquisite sight!"
The magic caster proclaimed much to the draconian's surprise as her face immediately became purple at those words.
"W-what?"
She stuttered out, clearly taken aback by the mage's words.
"Certainly, I must say… in my entire life I have seen few comparable to you, such rarities… I can't help but desire to acquire them…"
Satoru continued as Giselle's head seemed about to explode.
"E-exquisite? R-rarity?... why… y-you can't j-just say such things… i-I already belong t-to Lady Hardy…"
Giselle stuttered out completely embarrassed by the mage's flattery. Lelei really did not understand the man, but maybe this was one of those types of things she wasn't supposed to understand, like with Master Cato… it seems like every powerful caster had a rather peculiar taste when it comes to their partners.
"Oh yes… your goddess… I don't mean to assume, but it doesn't seem like she treats you with respect, does she? Where is the last time you could relax and not be completely overworked… even now… she sent you in this situation without any crucial information on your opponents… such disgraceful behavior… you will find no such poor demeanor with me."
Lelei had stopped trying to understand what was happening by now and just wanted to see how this would resolve.
Giselle glanced down at the ground.
"My Goddess is extremely busy… I must carry my own weight! E-even if she hardly ever contacts me directly… b-but it is my duty to-"
The draconian began to explain her position but was immediately silenced by Satoru shaking his head.
"The treatment is worse than I thought… you have been brainwashed into thinking that it is your duty to carry the deadweight of your superiors… this is no way of treating such a unique existence such as yourself… if you join me, I can promise your life will be filled with much more than just this endless cycle of disappointment… I can give you what you deserve."
The words of the mage seemed to cut deep inside the apostle as she swayed from side to side.
"In all my years… in all these centuries… no one ever told me such words… it makes me so happy to hear it… b-but I can't! i-I am truly sorry! Even if you feel this way for me… i-I just can't accept!"
Tears gathered in the golden eyes of the draconian as she pointed her scythe at the caster before flying toward him with a battle cry.
On his part Satoru hardly moved from his position, only raising a hand to block the incoming blade, much to everyone's, and especially Giselle's, shock.
With a swift movement Satoru stole the weapon from her grip before launching it away making Giselle lose her balance and fall directly in the mage's arms.
"Here, here… don't be like that… all that abuse you have suffered at the hands of an incompetent superior…"
He said as the white-haired apostle tried to escape his grip, but it was clear her attempts were half-hearted at best.
"Such amazing scales and form… a prime specimen… truly delightful."
The draconian apostle stopped struggling completely when Satoru began gently caressing the scales starting on her shoulder and going down her arm.
"W-why… you… can't…"
Giselle tried to protest Satoru's actions.
"Even these wings and these horns… unique and in perfect condition."
The mage continued as he passed his fingers over the mentioned areas eliciting whimpers of pleasure from the apostle who purred under his ministrations.
"You see, you are all tensed up due to stress… your superior even gave you a weapon not fitting your build… such a disgrace…"
The apostle just continued to purr, practically melting in the mage's arms.
"I-I am sorry g-goddess… I can't r-resist him any l-longer… p-please take me!"
The apostle of Hardy cried out as she clung to the mage's robes like an overgrown cat.
"I am glad you chose the wiser alternative… I am sure your future lineage will also be incredibly exquisite and a boon to the world."
The mage said as he just held the apostle in his arms seeing how she didn't seem to want to let him go anytime soon.
"B-babies?! B-but it is so s-soon! S-so sudden! W-we just c-can't… i-I need to prepare my h-heart first?"
The apostle's face was flaming as she blubbered out those words with a small, embarrassed smile of a girl in love ready to receive her first kiss.
The mage inclined his head slightly.
"Eh?"
He uttered as if he was confused by the draconian words before shifting his attention back to his group who by now had their jaws completely dislocated, Rory included as they witnessed the impossible happen before their eyes.
"I think we are done here… dragons and tamer are mine, so I think it is time to return to Alnus."
No one dared to utter a word at the proclamation, not that existed any words to express what was going through everyone's head in that moment.
{Saderan Imperial Palace}
{Tyuule's P.O.V.}
Tyuule felt the warm arms of the human called Miriel wrap around her. It wasn't unusual for them to share a bed, she noticed that she always managed to sleep better when she was with her. But some nights, like this one, she could just go for hours without a minute of sleep.
But it could be worse, at least this was not one of those nights where she had to service that piece of shit prince. Not that those happened often seeing how Miriel managed to satiate his appetite quite often.
Truly, the former Warrior Bunny Queen would not know what to do without the human currently sharing her bed. She would completely be broken by now, more than she already was. Maybe she would have given into despair and starved herself to death… no, she knew herself, she would have continued to live, feeding herself on hatred, doing anything and everything to achieve her revenge.
Not that she had given up. But she was willing to follow Miriel's lead on how to do it. They had waited for months for news about Miriel's homeland, a land the empire foolishly invaded not knowing what kind of disaster they would bring upon themselves.
Miriel told her that she worked for a criminal organization led by the most powerful mage in the world. She would have doubted her claims if not for the fact that the Doom that came to Falmart was constantly in the mouth of everyone slightly involved in the military, even their own jailors.
The two of them had waited for months for a sign, anything that would tell them that Miriel's organization infiltrated the capital. In the meantime, Miriel even managed to convince the bastard prince to move them in a cell together so that the human could teach the queen some of her techniques to please the prince. All of this just to assure Tyuule and be there for her after she heard the former queen scream in her sleep from nightmares.
Truly, in her complete disgrace, she had been blessed with this human who had been her anchor for the last months.
And finally, today something happened, their food was delivered as always but on the usual towel they should use to clean themselves there was a dusty imprint of a hand. Tyuule saw how the human brightened at the sight as she immediately grabbed her fork and used their soup to write a short message on their used towel the best she could.
It was only after they sent back the towel that Miriel explained in a hushed tone that the imprint was the symbol of a branch of their organization specialized in espionage and assassination.
Tyuule appreciated the enthusiasm, even though she internally thought the handprint might just have been casual. Though, there was no risk as Miriel's written language was something completely different from Saderan and would only look like they spilled some soup on the towel to anyone who didn't know the language.
Be it as it may, they will have their answer in a few days.
As for now she should really get some shut eyes. The prince might demand her presence again soon seeing how it had been almost two weeks since last time.
She closed her eyes, letting herself be melted by her friend's, and sometimes lover's, embrace.
She will have her revenge, and with Miriel by her sight she will see this worthless empire burn to ashes.