Night had finally settled over Ro, wrapping the ancient city in a soft, velvety darkness. The torches along the distant walls flickered like restless fireflies, casting long shadows that stretched toward Nathan and the small group gathered outside the city limits. The cool breeze carried the scent of olive trees and faint traces of smoke from the evening fires within the city.
Nathan stood there quietly, reflecting on the conversation he’d had earlier with Spartacus. He hadn’t been certain at first—Spartacus was loud, proud, and carried himself with the kind of fiery ego that usually clashed with Nathan’s calm perspective and ego which was much bigger and he wasn’t patient either. Yet the mont Nathan had seen him fight, everything changed. Spartacus fought like a man possessed: raw strength, deep conviction, and an unmistakable hunger for freedom.
It was clear to Nathan then—this man wasn’t ant to be another Devil Knight like dea, Scylla, or Charybdis. Spartacus needed a different role, sothing that matched the blazing passion he carried. A wild card... but one that, Nathan believed, would beco fiercely loyal if treated properly.
Now, however, he had other concerns. He found himself standing on the dirt path just outside Ro’s towering walls, the night sky stretching endlessly above him. Beside him were Servilia, Freja, and Elin—each of them quietly sharing the heavy mood of farewell. They had co to see Ariah and Auria off, as the two young won from Tenebria were finally returning ho after more than a month in Ro.
A month wasn’t long, but for Ariah and Auria it had felt like an eternity. Ro had been harsh and overwhelming painful for them even, and that despite the bonds they’d ford—with Freja’s warm cheerfulness, Elin’s quiet understanding, and even Servilia’s graceful maturity—ho was still ho. Auria missed her father waiting in distant Duchy of Breistan, and Ariah longed to return to her elder sister, who was probably pacing anxiously every day waiting for news of her.
"Looks like it’s ti," Freja murmured, breaking the stillness.
"It seems so..." Auria exhaled softly, her breath forming a faint mist in the cool air.
"Don’t you have any friends over there in Breistan?" Elin asked, tilting her head with gentle curiosity.
Auria hesitated, brushing a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "As a duke’s daughter, I know plenty of people... but the only one I’ve ever been truly close to is Princess Ariah." She shot a sideways glance at her friend. "But she lives in the capital, and I’m a bit far from there. She visits sotis, but... well, not often."
Ariah sighed as well, sharing that familiar loneliness. "Sa for . Being a princess cos with responsibilities, and my sister is always buried in work. I don’t have many close friends there." Her expression brightened just a little. "Though recently, I’ve been getting closer to Astyno and Briseis, so it’s not too bad."
Astyno and Briseis were of her age, so it made sense she felt more at ease around them. There was also Kassandra, though she had returned to Troy to reunite with her family—and to give birth to her son in her holand. By now, she had already delivered her child. Nathan rembered that ti bitterly; he’d been tangled up in the chaos of Ariah’s and Auria’s kidnapping, unable to pay attention to anything else.
Servilia suddenly offered a gentle smile, her voice carrying a teasing lilt. "Well, if you marry soone in the capital, you’ll get to see Ariah much more often, won’t you?"
Auria instantly turned crimson, her hands fidgeting helplessly. "W...Well... I—I suppose..." She clearly caught the hint.
Beside them, Freja and Elin exchanged thoughtful looks.
"Tenebria, huh?" Freja sighed, gazing toward the dark horizon as if she could see the distant continent from there. "I would’ve loved to visit soday, but it’s so far away. Literally across the world."
"Yeah..." Elin’s shoulders sagged just a little, her voice tinged with sadness. "It really is far."
Both of them would miss the Tenebrian duo deeply.
Nathan anwhile stayed quiet, his eyes lifted toward the sky waiting for sothing.
"Well, don’t be sad. We’ll definitely co visit you one day," Freja said quickly, her voice warm and upbeat as she leaned forward to catch Auria’s gaze. Auria had suddenly looked a little lost, a small shadow of loneliness flickering across her expression.
"Yes," Elin added with a firm nod. "But first, we have to regain our status in Alexandria as Heroes and... clean up a few things over there."
Her tone dipped slightly, and both she and Freja exchanged an uneasy look.
After all, the whole fiasco with Axel—his reckless decision to ally himself with Caesar—had forced them into becoming Heroes of the Roman Empire against their will. They had no idea how Amun-Ra would perceive them now. Traitors? Probably. The chances were painfully high. They needed to clear the misunderstanding, fix their reputation, and more importantly, prove their loyalty to the new Queen and Pharaoh of the Amun-Ra Empire, Cleopatra herself.
Thankfully, Nathan had already promised to go with them when the ti ca, to speak on their behalf. Just having him present would make a world of difference.
"At that ti, you should inform us ahead of schedule," Ariah said with a bright and reassuring smile. "Co straight to the capital—we’ll be waiting."
"Aren’t you forgetting ?" Servilia chid in with a light laugh, raising an eyebrow.
"N...No, of course not!" Ariah flushed in embarrassnt. "You too, Servilia! But... aren’t you too busy these days?"
Even though Ariah and Auria had grown close to Servilia as well, they all felt the difference between themselves and the Roman woman. Servilia carried the air of soone who had lived much, seen much, and learned even more. Mature, sharp, incredibly intelligent—she seed like the type who barely had ti for breaks, let alone visits. And with Ro now in the process of rebuilding, she would be even busier than before.
"You might be right," Servilia admitted with a small shrug, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "But I’ll co visit one of those days. Definitely."
"Then you’ll be welco anyti!" Ariah said, beaming.
A brief mont of comfortable silence settled over them as the night breeze brushed past, carrying hints of sage and distant hearthsmoke.
Then Freja suddenly asked, her voice slightly suspicious, "What are you looking at?"
"This," Nathan said simply, tilting his chin upward.
They all followed his gaze.
Far above them, at first barely noticeable against the starry sky, a tiny golden speck glimred like a misplaced star. But it moved. And as it descended, it grew—larger and larger, until its shape beca unmistakable.
"A D...Dragon!!" Freja shouted, instantly drawing her sword, eyes wide as saucers.
Elin completely froze on the spot, her breath catching, while even Servilia’s composure cracked as she stared in disbelief.
"Calm down," Ariah giggled, lifting her hands as if to soothe frightened animals. "It’s Drakkias. Lord Nathan’s dragon."
"Y...You have a dragon?" Freja sputtered, staring at Nathan.
"I was also shocked when I first saw him," Auria added, laughing nervously.
But it was real—very real.
Drakkias, the magnificent golden dragon Nathan had claid after stealing the Golden Fleece, descended with a grace that defied his enormous size. His scales glowed like polished sunlight, every flap of his wings rippling the air as he slowed his approach. Finally, with an earth-shaking but controlled landing, he folded his colossal wings and lowered his massive body to the ground.
The others instinctively stepped back, awestruck and slightly terrified.
Nathan alone remained where he stood.
Drakkias imdiately lowered his head, nudging his snout toward Nathan with a soft, rumbling sound that reverberated through the ground.
Nathan reached up, placing his hand gently against the warm, smooth scales.
"How are you?" He said with a small, pleased smile. "You look like you’ve gotten even bigger."
Drakkias let out a deep, satisfied purr at his touch, like a gigantic golden cat happy to see its master.
A mont later, a light thud echoed as dea landed gracefully from Drakkias’s back, her gown fluttering around her like a shadow peeled from the night.
"Did he get lost?" Nathan asked.
He had called for Drakkias earlier, but the dragon had taken far too long to arrive. Concerned sothing might have happened, Nathan had finally sent dea to check on him.
dea shook her head, her expression as cold and unreadable as ever. "He was busy eating, so I had to hurry him." Her mismatched red-and-green eyes slid toward the dragon.
Drakkias imdiately began sweating bullets—despite having no pores capable of such things. His wings drooped as if he wanted to shrink into the earth and disappear.
As intimidating as a golden dragon was, dea was still far more terrifying to him. Nathan was gentle with Drakkias, indulgent even. dea, however... dea did not tolerate nonsense.
Nathan chuckled softly and reached out, patting the dragon’s chin with a reassuring gesture.
"I hope you ate well," he said. "You’ll be taking them back to Tenebria."
He nodded toward Ariah and Auria.
Drakkias bobbed his massive head in acknowledgnt, as though he fully understood the responsibility placed on him.
"So we’re going back on Drakkias’s back? That’s amazing!" Ariah hurried forward with excitent sparkling in her eyes. Riding a dragon wasn’t sothing most people could boast about.
It was also simply the most practical option—the journey would take far too long through any other ans.
"I’m... a little nervous, though," Auria admitted, approaching more carefully, her steps hesitant.
"Just hold on tight," Nathan advised.
Drakkias lowered himself to the ground, folding his legs so the two won could climb onto his back more easily. His scales glimred under the moonlight like overlapping plates of gold, both beautiful and imposing.
"dea. Accompany them," Nathan said then.
He wasn’t willing to take any risks with their safety after learning how the blood of the Demon King was actually this important. Sending dea as their escort was the best guarantee of protection they could have.
dea nodded, though there was the faintest hint of reluctance in her posture—she clearly wanted to remain by Nathan’s side, but she would never disobey his orders.
Just as she turned to leave, Nathan reached out and gently caught her by the arm, pulling her into a soft embrace.
dea froze for a heartbeat before lting against him, her rigid posture dissolving as if she had turned into warm wax. Even her chilly aura softened instantly.
Freja and Elin both whipped their heads away, faces flushed a bit red. Even Servilia, usually composed, blinked in surprise.
Nathan brushed a hand through dea’s sleek black hair with a tenderness that contrasted sharply with her fearso reputation.
"You’ve done well, dea," he murmured.
She truly was his greatest recruit—deadly, loyal, endlessly capable. It wasn’t just that she was the leader of his Devil Knights; in Nathan’s personal army, dea was effectively his right hand.
"Anything you want, Nate," dea replied softly.
And then—she smiled.
A rare, breathtaking smile that none of the others had ever seen on her face. Elin, Freja, and Servilia stared at her as if a goddess had revealed her true form. dea never smiled at anyone. No one but Nathan.
After that brief but tender mont, dea finally climbed onto Drakkias’s back beside Ariah and Auria, much to the dragon’s visible anxiety. The great golden beast stiffened, neck straight as a board, as though terrified to accidentally irritate her.
"Move," dea commanded.
Instant obedience.
Drakkias launched into the air with a powerful sweep of his wings, sending dust swirling as he ascended. His golden form rose higher and higher until he pierced through the dark Roman sky and vanished into the starlit horizon.
As their silhouettes disappeared into the night, Nathan exhaled slowly.
His main purpose in Ro had finally been fulfilled.
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