[Various Spell Buffs] [Various Potion Buffs] [Terror (Minor)] inflicted on [Fairy, Tasianna Marina Silverpond]
[“Speak.”] The dragon’s airy voice rang in my head like a giant gong. It reverberated throughout my body as I gulped down dry spit, unable to keep myself calm as his [Draconic Aura] shattered my confidence. [“Intruders. Answer!”]
He stomped his foot down as his orthodox dragon body moved closer to the cavern’s entrance, allowing us to see his reddened horn shaped like a scythehead. It was a stark contrast to the rest of his white-blue scales, confirming this was indeed the rank A dragon Lord Siegragxus had asked us to find.
The only dragon to have not been slain yet. This was Yothmlak Heathlaxmal without a doubt.
“We sought refuge!” Vifi shouted, standing in front of in an attempt to shield from the aura attack. However, due to her shorter stature and the fact the dragon was even larger than the cavern’s massive, castle-sized entrance, that might not have worked as she imagined. “We didn’t an any disrespect, Lord Yothmlak! We … young ones lower our tail before you.”
… Vifi’s lightning tail was out, right now, since we had initially thought Yothmlak an intruder. So, uh, it was sound enough. I think?
[“Our tongue?”] The dragon raised his head, tilting it a bit since Vifi spoke in Draconic. He lowered it once again after he got his bearing. [“I see. So you are servants? From which clan, though? For what self-respecting true dragonkin would take on the service of a wretched stain of the invaders.”]
‘Stain of the invaders?’ Does he hate demonkin?
The dragon pushed himself into the cave entrance, forcing us back as his footsteps nearly crushed us. His tail slamd against the wall, causing the icicles on the ceiling to fall down with loud shattering sounds.
“Then shall I indulge in your words, demonkin? Let us see if you truly are who you are before I turn you into ice,” he said, not looking back at us.
Vifi and I gave each other a look before staring outside at the blizzard raging about, so strong that it was impossible to see anything behind the hail. It was supposed to be morning, but the black clouds blocked the sky and this rain made it seem like it was just after dusk.
Could we flee this dragon from this situation? Not a chance. As the snow wasn’t artificially created, like the small blizzard the ice elentals created, Vifi could use her lightning movents to flee while carrying , but we wouldn’t be able to get far. She would freeze to death, even with my potions. We needed Lady Hestia here to assure our safety.
aning, the ice dragon would quickly catch up and kill us if we escaped now. The wrong decision would damn any chance of our survival, even if we were to bring up Lady Hestia or Lord Rhekkraxus. According to Lord Siegragxus, this dragon was supposedly quite ill-mooded, and he assuredly sounded as such with his condescending tone. Even if we followed him now, it wouldn’t be unlikely for him to attempt to kill us.
[“Do you believe we could—”] I tried to speak, but Vifi interrupted imdiately.
[“No,”] she answered. [“I can feel when I’m out of my league. No, a rank A in this storm would be suicidal. For that, I would require Hestia’s assistance like when we fought the rank As in Iceskale, or how we managed to keep up with a few in Inferno Nest. You really can feel it when you have to fight without her songs.”]
[“I can attest to that …”] I sighed, heart pounding for the safety of my dear mistress. [“So, how are we supposed to go with this?”]
[“Well, he clearly hates , so he probably will kill !”] she said, shocking with how casual her tone was. [“Ahhh, don’t worry. Just ntion Donut and the empress, and you should be fine. He probably will believe you since you’re a fairy.”]
[“Don’t say that! Urgh, the mont Her Highness isn’t around, and you take the chance to start speaking like you did before her awakening. Could you please take this a bit seriously, Vifi? Please? I’m already worried for our young mistress, I don’t want to worry about our safety as well!”]
Hooo, freezing while being within Vifi’s company sure brought back so bad mories when our party was still only four people. As in, during our stay on Iceskale before Lady Hestia woke up.
Shay, Beth, Vifi, and ; us four. Honestly, we sure weren’t the most talkative mbers to accompany Her Highness. Shay was always dedicated to his training to beco stronger for Lady Hestia’s sake, while Vifi tried to prove herself to the scalekin populace of her role as our mistress’s protector.
Thankfully, she managed to settle most of that issue before Lady Hestia woke up. We were able to hide so of it before Her Highness asked about it when she found it out. Still, it was better than what her reputation was during the first month of our stay.
anwhile, Beth was definitely the most social, yet she was also the one who lacked the most “guidance.” As in, she didn’t know what to do outside of following her brother’s goals and objectives, instead of creating her own opinions on things. Her outburst sure did help here and there for our lady, though they sure weren’t when only the four of us were around. She was embracing civilization better than her brother, yet she might be more lost in it than him.
And then there was —good ol’ Tasianna, doing her best for her mistress. Learning true ice from Her Majesty with the twins to serve Lady Hestia … Haaa. A year has passed and I wasn’t anywhere closer to being that ideal shield for her, and now I even coerced Lady Hestia to co to the glaciers to help with that task and also find a way to unlock the sealed powers of my [Glacial Witch’s Wardress].
It really felt like I could get nothing underway unless I had Lady Hestia close to . The past year without her felt like it went by faster than the one to two months we spent together in Aureolis to expose the Prince of Envy.
Haaa … sure enough, even this expedition was starting to wear my soul down as if ten years had flown by.
[“Okay, okay!”] Vifi shrugged. [“Won’t do anything if we’re all tensed or sothing. We just have to find him in a good mood and then ntion—Watch it!”]
Vifi suddenly pushed to the side as hail suddenly flew at , nearly hitting if I wasn’t shoved to the side. As I landed on my bottoms, I rolled backward as I readied my catalyst for a fight, only to flinch when I noticed that “hail” was a wall of white-blue scales.
[“If you must speak, then speak while you walk with , whelps,”] Yothmlak spoke into our heads again. [“Scheming in front of my nest. Wisdom has evaded the both of you. Co!”]
The scales turned towards , charging forward as if they wanted to skewer with their sharp edges. Using [Wind Blast], I blew myself into the sky and used my wings to flutter away from the wall of scales, only for [Danger Perception] to activate, warning of more scales coming from outside the cave.
He hid so many before he even entered? I realized. We were trapped inside the cave the mont he appeared. I did not account for [Scale Manipulation] because I didn’t see him molt at all.
Hamrfist Bellow! I tried to cast, but before the magic circle could materialize, the scales caught up to , encasing in an eggshell to trap .
Vifi managed to break through, creating a hole for to escape with her lightning spear, but before she could grab my hand, so of the scales caught my leg. Through telekinesis, the scale pulled onto , tripping in the air and causing my spell to fizzle as I lost focus.
So of the scales also caught Vifi’s leg, but with her lightning warhamr, a single strike was enough to shatter the molted scales and dispel their mana connection to their owner. Regardless, this distraction kept Vifi from helping , leaving vulnerable to the rest of the scales.
Wrapping themselves around my limbs, they connected together, locking my arms and legs together, respectively. A chill stung my skin, but that was about it as I resisted the freezing cold these scales were exuding like an aura. My wardress turned my mana into true ice whenever I activated the [Glacial Witch’s Protection] enchantnt, so even if this was the ice of a rank A, as long as they didn’t possess true ice, I could break through it.
Sheer Freeze!
The [Ice Magic Lv. 7] spell [Sheer Freeze] ignored the target’s [Ice Resistance], making it even more dangerous to experienced ice mages. You could mitigate the damage with wisdom and damage reduction skills, but this was redundant here as I wasn’t harming the dragon, I was harming the scales around my limbs.
As the cyan magic circle appeared on my arms, the scales cracked as ice ford on my body. Putting pressure on my wrists, I managed to free my hands to cast [Glacial Protection] on myself. Coating my arms in hard ice armor as I readied a wind—
[“Enough with this resistance. I order you—co!”]
“Waaaaaaaah!” I scread as another of my spells fizzled out. Without any warning, I was suddenly pulled deeper into the tunnel as if Vifi had activated her magnetic attraction.
“Tasianna!” Vifi shouted from the entrance before I heard the sound of a loud clap, stopping the pull with an opposite one created by her. Stuck in the air, a telekinetic and magnetic force were pulling to my left and right, respectively.
As much as I wanted to thank Vifi, she sohow forgot one fact.
Arrrrgh, I’m getting pulled apart!
My hair and skin were in agony as it felt like sobody was trying to tear my body in two, while my bones and organs were being rearranged and dislocated without my consent. Yes, as a fae, I could just regenerate my organs and body as long as I had mana, but I could still feel the pain! Even if I didn’t all my “flesh” to survive, I would very much like to keep them!
[“Vifi, stop, stop, stop! You’re tearing apart!”] I yelled.
[“And you’ll be torn apart if I let you go!”]
[“I’d rather attempt diplomacy at this point, than having to put myself back together after letting my brain be torn in two! So do a favor and let go! By Goddess Plesia and our mistress, let go, please!”]
There was a silence between us as I continued screaming in my head, until Vifi finally relented. With a big sigh, she said, [“Marsven’s shadow … then you better have learned sothing from Donut’s silver tongue on this matter!”] and let go, allowing Yothmlak to pull right towards him.
He gave a quick glance, scoffed at how out of breath I was, and kept floating in the air as he continued walking deeper into the tunnels. Vifi eventually caught up, courtesy of the fact that she accepted her capture by his scales. As the two of us were now floating next to his furled-up wings, “locked” inside a scale coffin, I could only scowl at this insane situation we were in.
“For re servants, the two of you are far too rebellious. Ha, you being sent to the glacier for whatever reason eluded at first, but it seed I was enlightened due to your behavior. You served your master without care, and for that, you deserved to be exiled. Death is rcy for cracking my scales, whelps!” he roared, despite the lack of anger in his eyes. “Yet, I shall let you live. I have need of servants to start sorting through the wealth of treasures I have accrued on this trip. You will have the honor to serve the Heathlaxmal clan, despite your disgraceful lineage, Stain.”
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“D-did you just call ‘Stain?’” Vifi gave the dragon an incredulous look, although to Yothmlak’s complete ignorance. “My na is—Mhmm!”
Scales quickly wrapped around Vifi’s mouth, silencing her.
“Your na is irrelevant, Stain. For a demonkin, you should feel grateful that I am allowing you to live at all. An existence created through the seed of the invaders—an ever-reminding legacy of the destruction they created—should kneel and bow their head and tail, begging for forgiveness and rcy. Do as such, now that you serve .”
… This person is worse than what Lord Siegragxus tried to describe.
Vifi struggled as the scales attached to her body were starting to freeze her body, threatening her with death if she wouldn’t listen to him. Could she break through it in ti? I wasn’t so sure since she couldn’t move and I knew she wouldn’t risk a Territory Dispute. I still couldn’t form mine, even after one year of training on controlling my aura, so she would have to clash against a rank A dragon all by herself after she spent around 40% of her mana against the mandril.
Regardless, she didn’t look really scared. In fact, she was glaring at the dragon with a rebellious fire, defiantly resisting the urge to groan in pain. Sensing her hostility, the dragon turned around, letting out a low growl like a disapproving scoff.
Oh no! My eyes widened in fear of what was about to co. That girl had no filter when it ca to people disrespecting her, and she definitely wasn’t sobody who would be polite if sobody threatened her. In such a way, she shared that personality trait with my lady.
“Lord Yothmlak!” I shouted in an attempt to pull his attention towards , but to no avail as his body completely turned around to face Vifi. His scales dragged the latter onto the ground, causing him to tower her inside this darkened cave, with the only light source being my catalyst and Vifi’s red lightning sizzling the air as her anger rose.
[Night Vision] was invaluable, although, in this situation, I would have rather not known how the two were staring daggers at each other. By the gods, what have I done to deserve this sort of situation? Of all the things, Vifi even said we shouldn’t fight Yothmlak, but her emotions were getting the better of her!
Arrrgh, damn belligerent wrathie! I cursed.
“We are servants of Empress lloxtressa Whisperia Nordor!” I shouted, finally attracting the dragon’s attention. “Our party bracelets! The mark of Clan Kargryxmor is on our bracelets. We serve Empress lloxtressa’s daughter, the third princess of Kargryx, the eighth child of Emperor Eltharion, and the princess of Frozen Nest—Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor!”
“Ahhh, so my question is answered. Finally!” He slapped Vifi away, sending her crashing into a nearby wall. Unperturbed, he had his scales lift up to his eye level, all while I was grinding my teeth, worried for Vifi’s safety. “Co now. You must have felt it. I already appraised you. I know enough, despite your high [Identity Blocker], so I know how tough Stain is.”
You also know her na then! … Or maybe he doesn’t. Maybe so information got blocked, but, whatever, when did he appraise ? When? Ahh, probably when he appeared and first began exuding his aura to terrify as a distraction. I didn’t notice the feeling.
“So, enough worrying for Stain. She will survive. I have no intention of killing good, capable servants,” he stated.
“We are not your servants! The only ones I serve are Princess Hestia and Empress lloxtressa!”
“Well, you might not be able to soon with your words. Mind them, and you will return to the south one day.” He chuckled. “Now, Fairy. Continue answering my questions, less my mood drops again.”
Questions? Right, the ones he gave us when we t.
“Our entry wasn’t intentional. We truly didn’t know this cavern was inhabited by you, Lord Yothmlak. We sought refuge and we stayed close to the entrance until you appeared just a mont later,” I stated, feeling like he had set this up as a trap or sothing. Though, whether it was an actual coincidence or not, it didn’t matter for now. “We ca to the northern glaciers in the company of our mistress and two wyverns. We were asked by Dragon Ruler of Ice, Alextraxus, through his son, Lord Siegragxus, as a proxy, to help his youngest son, Lord Rhekkraxus, in his stay here. Our mission was to help him find the true dragonkin training in the glaciers and to have them return to Iceskale, so as to have you and the others, acknowledge Empress lloxtressa’s daughter.”
“Ha! I see! So the rumors were true that Empress lloxtressa had bred with that fla tyrant, Eltharion. Pah! A disgrace to all that is ice! We called her our Dragon Ruler of Ice, yet she betrays us to a fire dragon, or all beings. Pah! And they birthed a creature that accepts the seed of the invaders as a servant; why not just spit onto the graves of those who died and fought during the demon wars!” he said, confusing a bit, although I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was his hostility? “So, then, you ca with that whelpling of a master to the glaciers? Haha, foolish. Poor Empress, birthing a complete fool of a child. Well, then, what a blessing in disguise then!”
I flinched when the dragon let out a mighty chortle, loud enough to cause my ears to ring. “W-what?”
“Isn’t it obvious, Fairy? A fire dragon will not survive in this ruthless wasteland. The cold will chill her down, ending her before she can even take flight as an adult. She is dead, so now you may—”
“Silence!” I shouted with all my might, interrupting the dragon as he let out a questioning groan. “My princess is not dead!”
“Ha! So sure of yourself, yet where is the proof? Surely, you don’t have a dragon registered to your party, right? Ha, as if one has the privilege to remain a humanoid in this cold, when one is not made for this freezing temperatures. She is dead. Plain and simple. Unless you have a thod to deduce it?”
“Of course! That is because—”
[“Shut up!”] I jerked as I heard Vifi’s voice. [“The bastard doesn’t know. He doesn’t know I have [Hestia’s Retainer]!”]
… Ah!
[“If Donut was dead, that title would have disappeared. Obviously! As he said, his appraisal wasn’t perfect, so he couldn’t have seen my [Hestia’s Retainer] or your [Hestia’s Imperial Guard]. If he did, he would have noticed that part,”] he explained.
[“R-right. By the gods, I-I have to think—”]
[“When are you answering my new question?”]
“W-what!” I jumped as I heard Yothmlak’s voice through telepathy. Impossible. He shouldn’t have been able to intrude into our conversation unless we permitted him to do so by connecting our minds with a mana link.
“A scare is what you deserve, Fairy. For ignoring and continuing to speak with Stain over there. I do not need to hear your telepathic thoughts to know you are using [Telepathy]. I must be an idiot, if I didn’t notice it the mont you flinched and interrupted yourself,” he scoffed. “Now, I hope you had so ti to speak and gather your thoughts. Continue where you left off.”
I stumbled on my words for a mont, feeling even more befuddled than before. I almost let sothing important go.
“B-because the young lady is her mother’s daughter! That’s why!” I answered after mustering so courage. “We have trained for months for this trip, to the point even her mother was sure that we could survive this trip. We were separated due to this blizzard, but I can assure you, she is not dead. I know this, for I am her maid. My lady is no weakling; she is strong. Strong enough to survive a little storm like this!”
“Oooh, such confidence. Admirable for a servant. One must always believe in thy master, yes?” He then turned to Vifi. “Now, Stain. What did you speak with Tasianna? Speak.”
Vifi growled as the scales released her mouth, causing her to glare at the dragon before taking a deep breath. Composed, she said, “I reminded her that she was the calr one. Stress and emotions were getting to her, affecting her judgent and manner of speech. Whatever answer that ca out of her mouth would have been inappropriate for an answer. As a demonkin, I understand and can feel emotions quite well.”
“Ahh, of course, you do. The sins of those demons are part of your lineage. Well, whatever, Stain. Do mind your manners, then. I might not be your actual master, but I am now, as long as you remain with .” He then turned back to the tunnel, walking forward as his scales made us follow right behind him. “If this mistress of yours truly is so alive as you presu, then it doesn’t matter in any case. You are stuck here, in this cave. With . Until the storm dies down. Though, I still require so servants to help gather my treasure and help move them.”
“You are moving?” I asked.
“Yes. I have hunted enough in this area, and I wish to wander closer to where the elentals gather in their pursuit of becoming the first Ice Elental Emperor. The dawn of a new god! Hehe, at least, I wish to see how these elentals toil in the pursuit of strength. Maybe they will give an idea when I finally evolve into a rank S, to ensure my strength for the next generation,” he answered. “How fortunate, even. You are a fairy, Tasianna. It will do well then, as I can have you translate for . You shall serve by being my mouth as I ask the elentals why they seek such strength. Why do they wish to beco gods, when the Origin Gods exist?”
He wants to go to the glaciers? T-that works out, though!
I gulped, but to not make the sa mistake as before, I controlled myself. I needed to see what his intentions were. “… Simply because I am a fairy, does not an I am able to speak with elentals and lesser fae, Lord Yothmlak”
“Modesty? I do appreciate it when you work, but not when you put yourself down and sabotage my impression of you, Fairy. I know you have [Fae Talk]. You shall be my mouth.”
“I-I apologize, my lord. I was … We must return to our highness. We have to find her after this storm is blown away,” I stated, trying to sound desperate. “You are mighty, Lord Yothmlak! Surely, you would help us find your princess, correct? Once we find her, she and Lord Rhekkraxus will help you! We had to find you, after all.”
“Bah. Waste my ti for a whelpling that will surely die? Even if she doesn’t die of the cold, she will once the beasts appear. I lived here for years, now, Fairy. I know the beasts here well, and she will die.”
You are wrong. Lady Hestia will triumph, even if her luck fails her.
“As such, I will not. If she sohow manages to survive, she will flee to the south, and you will et in a few years’ ti, or whenever I feel like going back to my clan’s nest. For now, you will have my protection. I shall have you walk under my wings as we fly northeast, to the spire.”
“… We understand.”
“Good. Then prepare yourself to serve like you did that princess of ours, maid.”
Hrmm. Yes, it would be better if the two of you did not et until the very end. This man actually holds hostility towards my mistress with the way he speaks! Not even the elder scales in the south were this disrespectful to Lady Hestia! I concluded. Our party’s goal was still to go to the spire, and if Vifi and I sohow managed to make this dragon do our bidding from the shadow, even better. If he were to hunt so of the monsters blocking our way to the north, it might serve Lady Hestia, Shay, and Beth!
When I shared my plan with Vifi, she quickly agreed to it. [“Sounds fair, honestly. However, we still have to notify Hestia and the others about where we are. Do you still have your [Room] runes?”]
[“Inside my bag. Yours as well. We have to hide as much information about Lady Hestia as possible. I do not trust him.”]
[“Hrmm, sa. He feels … different from how Siegragxus described him, even if so things are similar, like how rude and single-minded he seems.”]
[“He’s slightly too welcoming, considering there is a mandril running about killing true dragonkin. He cannot possibly be so dull to not have noticed the deaths of his fellow dragonkin, right? Even if he hadn’t been attacked yet, he must have noticed sothing and acted with so caution,”] I explained, feeling like that confusion from before was getting even harder to decipher.
[“True dragonkin are arrogant and overconfident in themselves, but they aren’t idiots. Even if he thinks we aren’t at fault for the murders, the fact he invited us inside by wrapping his scales around us like mummies, feels neglectful. If I wanted to trap a potential enemy, I would ensure a far more controlled setting to expose them. Then again, I’m not a dragon, so what do I know?”]
[“Regardless, let’s stop these talks for now. When you get the ti, aim to write a ssage to Lady Hestia.”]
[“Got it.”]
After so ti, we finally reached the entrance to a large room, allowing Vifi and to see what this “treasure horde” was. To nobody’s surprise, most of the room was filled with monster materials like horns, shells, and pretty body parts, all ripped off and thrown inside like a hoarder’s collection. There were so jewels and ores here and then, with so glistening crystals lying under the mound, but there was no care to make them look good.
There was no good treatnt here for his “treasure.” Dragons cared about their nests and how they looked, especially with the way their treasure was placed. Empress lloxtressa was fastidious when it ca to decorating Lady Hestia’s room, and this wasn’t even ntioning her own and the temporary one inside the subspace. Even Hannathala took better care of her nest with the ice crystals, but it looked like Yothmlak just threw anything he got into the room and called it a day.
Urgh, then again, dragons could be slobs as well. I almost fell back into my judgental way of thinking.
In any case, it didn’t really matter in the end how we thought of all this treasure. We had to sohow gather all of this and carry it away. The good thing was that there were so frozen monsters inside, so we wouldn’t beco famished without Lady Hestia’s subspace. Yothmlak, thankfully, was willing to share it with us, as long as we worked.
Haa, Lady Hestia. It will take us a while to reunite, so until then, please, stay safe!
“Wahhhhh!” I cried out of stress, almost wanting to actually shed tears with what was happening. My crimson tail was whipping the ground into shreds, slicing it up as stress turned into anger. “I-it took I-don’t-fucking-know-how-long to cook that stew, you bastard! MY STEW! I wanted to eat it!”
I huffed fla out of my mouth as the cavern my party was using for the night was crumbling down like a broken gingerbread house. Furthermore, we weren’t exactly inside the cave I dug out with [Ruby Shredder], but below, as the ground had collapsed after my talk with Mom and Sieg.
A mighty earthquake shook while I was cooking so stew to lighten up everybody’s mood. I managed to save it at first, but then this unwelco fucker that cause the earthquake tried to attack us to swallow us whole, causing to spill the contents all over the floor! My stew!
‘Uuuh, Hestia?’ Hikari sounded worried. She didn’t share my anger for so reason. ‘That thing is a rank A. We need to—’
“I don’t care! I wanted to eat that damn stew, for gosh’s sake! I was about to eat it! I had such a good jingle in my head, only for this shitty worm to ruin it all!”
“Kewwwwwwhhhhh!” The wall broke as an ear-screeching roar echoed inside this cave, signaling the ergence of a giant worm with the diater of a bus. It was so long that I was still seeing its blue, ice-covered body slithering through a new hole its drill-like beak created after a hot minute or so.
The room continued to quake as it moved around, probably emptying even more earth and rock, risking the full collapse of this mountain’s inside. I stood my ground though. Not just ‘cause of anger, though, but also ‘cause we actually had no way to flee. The entrance was blocked by rubble, and even if I could dig my party out of here, what would stop this worm from chasing after us in the blizzard?
No. We had no choice in this matter. This was an unavoidable battle … and one I had to finish for the sake of my honor. For the sake of the words I told Mom to allow to hang around here. If I couldn’t take care of a single ambush, just ‘cause the monster was too strong, then how else would I continue surviving here?
“Shay! Beth!” I shouted as the worm charged at after breaking through the ground again, only for two giant walls of true ice to form right in front of , causing the worm to growl in pain as it diverted its path. It dug right into the ceiling to escape as my wyvern guards landed right next to . “We are killing it!”
“Your will, my claws!” Shay announced.
“For Princess Hestia!” Beth roared.
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