Dragonlord

Ep 151. I’m Sure We’ll Meet Again. (5)

Ep 151. I’m Sure We’ll Meet Again. (5)

Quiet footsteps echoed throughout the cavern’s interior as Serenis trudged along the stone floors. Raizel’s soft, heaving breaths filled the remaining silence as she remained motionless in the dragonlord’s arms.

Serenis gently placed the youngling unto the cavern floors.

Grimacing painfully, Serenis she stared up towards the ceiling with a solemn gaze. The night sky was far out of view, the few holes above her allowing only a small amount of starlight inside.

‘…Five.’

Counting Aldrid, six.

Since her awakening, half the existing deities had stepped down from their rule: none of which she’d accomplished on her own.

Before then, and even now – while the other lords had busied themselves with their independent feats – Serenis alone had remained behind.

“…”

A millennium prior, demonkind had ventured on a quest to rid the world of its single divinity. It’d nearly costed their entire brethren.

Compared to the losses her kind had suffered then, a single dragon was hardly anything noteworthy; had another lord been in her place, they’d likely be celebrating the falling of another deity at such an insignificant cost.

But Serenis remained in the darkness of an isolated cavern, watching over her dying kin with dread-filled eyes.

“…If…you can hear me…”

A thousand years, and she still hadn’t learned to let go as the others could.

She still hadn’t learned to be callous and uncaring as others could.

The dragonlord’s pained expression twisted in desperation. She held a hand above her chest, gripping a tight fist as she spoke in a pleading voice.

‘…If you’re truly listening…’

In retrospect, it’d always struck her odd.

During her initial encounter with Hathelon, the deity had landed what should’ve been a deciding blow on her neck; when she’d lost consciousness, she’d thought her next awakening would be in the afterlife.

And during her final encounter with Hathelon, the deity had dealt what should’ve been a fatal blow upon Raizel. With Serenis unable to help the dying youngling, she couldn’t possibly have survived.

But both of them had survived. On both occasions Serenis had fallen unconscious, only to awaken to inexplicable outcomes.

“…”

No, inexplicable wasn’t quite right. She did have a vague idea of what had happened.

And right now, clinging to a vague idea seemed much more appealing than waiting for Raizel to die before her very eyes.

Faint glimmers of light shone from Serenis’ tightened grip. Explosive amounts of mana gathered into her hand, as if she was preparing to strike at some towering enemy.

‘If my absence is what’s necessary, then…’

Clenching her eyes, Serenis allowed the surge of mana explode upon her own body.

Waves of pain washed over her as the spell swallowed her defenseless frame. But still, she had no mind to stop injuring herself; the prismatic lights only grew in intensity, tearing through their caster’s skin and flesh.

‘…Please. Help her.’

After what seemed like an eternity, Serenis’ spell came to a case. Her legs buckled as her knees sunk to the floor, her body limp and sullen.

…

…

…

“…Ugh.”

And in mere seconds, the Serenis’ closed eyelids would begin to twitch.

A visible frown crossed the dragonlord’s eyes as she seemingly came to in mere moments. A pained groan escaped her lips as her hands frantically ran over her body, painfully rubbing at the newly acquired wounds.

Soon, a pair of two golden eyes revealed themselves.

“Serenis…was that really necessary?”

The dragonlord rose back to her feet, chuckling at the recklessness that had instigated their return.

She then spared a brief moment to examine herself. Though, as soon as she ascertained that she wasn’t in need of immediate care, her attention returned towards the dying steel dragon.

“And I thought I told you to be nice to yourself, Raizel. But I guess you’d be the last one to take that advice…”

A sarcastic smile curved the dragonlord’s lips as she knelt back on one knee, studying the youngling on the floor. She gently hovered one hand over Raizel’s lips, checking the strength of their current breathing.

“…It’s a miracle you’re still breathing.”

The situation was bleak at best. Not even the world’s most skilled healer could guarantee the youngling’s survival in this moment; it wouldn’t be surprising if her breathing were to cease this very second.

But nonetheless, they had to try.

She couldn’t restore missing limbs or molten flesh; no magic could accomplish such feats. But she could at least undo the numerous burns covering Raizel’s body, which would hopefully be sufficient to keep the youngling alive.

Steeling their heart, the dragonlord’s palm began to emit a glimmering, orange light.

Truth be told, the magic’s effects seemed miniscule at best. But slow as it may be, the black over Raizel’s charred body was lessening speck by speck.

Drops of sweat began to form over the dragonlord’s forehead. For hours she remained firm in place, her focus refusing to wane as she performed her spell.

“Hang in there, Raizel. If you die, I’ll never hear the end of it from your lord…”

✧   ✧   ✧

Thankfully, Serenis had picked out a secluded location: in her current occupied, replaced state, there was no guarantee she could even fend off a wild squirrel. Even if the Reaper himself were to suddenly appear, she couldn’t risk interrupting Raizel’s treatment.

Of course, nearby monsters had been all but eradicated, and Serenis had explicitly asked Urgus to prevent anyone from seeking her out. She’d likewise told Ilias and Light that she needed to be alone with Raizel, minimizing the chance of any interruption that could occur.

For the first few hours, anyways.

“Ilias…are you sure you can find them like this?”

“Mhm. One second…”

The red dragon trudged along the snowy hill, sniffing the night air as she walked.

Light was trailing a short way behind her with a quizzical expression. As much as she trusted Ilias, she’d never heard of dragons being able to locate things by scent.

But books were lying, apparently.

“…There. See that?”

Ilias came to a brief stop, pointing at the entrance of a rather secluded cavern up the snowy hill. A faint orange glow was leaking from within, signalling the presence of others inside.

“I didn’t know you had such a good sense of smell…”

“I don’t, actually. It’s just Lord Serenis. Weird, right?”

“Really? What does she even smell like?”

“Like…”

Ilias trailed off her words as she began to approach the illuminated cavern entrance. Pretend as she might, her heart was thumping so loud she was surprised Light couldn’t hear its beating.

The youngling lightly gripped the cavern’s stone walls, peeking into the orange luminance. She could immediately see the familiar backside of her lord, and her even familiar friend lying on the stone floors before them. She could still hear the series of heaving breaths, lightly echoing throughout the cavern walls.

Though, a small frown crossed Ilias’ eyes as she realized that something was different.

“…Lord…Serenis?”

“…”

The dragonlord neither answered, nor even looked towards the entrance. She remained focused on the task at hand, her heaving breaths growing rapid and sparse.

Light also peeked in beside her sister, frowning at the strange sight.

“…Serenis? Are you okay?”

A few minutes passed in foreboding silence as the two remained at the entrance. With Serenis remaining deathly silent, neither were sure if they should be barging in to interrupt, or staying put to not interrupt.

Only when the orange lights began to dim would the dragonlord turn her head, facing the two guests. She could hardly tell who they were in her hazy vision.

“…Ilias, Light. Didn’t she…I mean, didn’t I tell you two that I needed to be alone?”

The two looked at each other, then back at Serenis. It was Ilias who answered, a hint of guilt mixed into her voice.

“We…got worried. You were taking so long. It’s been hours since sundown…”

“I…see…”

“Is everything okay? Is Raizel…”

Ilias immediately sealed her lips. She couldn’t bear to ask the question in full, fearing that she’d hear something she rather wouldn’t.

But the dragonlord lightly wove her hand, beckoning for them to come closer.

“I did what I could. But she’ll still need to see a proper healer.”

“A healer? Does that mean…”

The dragonlord’s light nodding confirmed Ilias’ spark of hope.

“She’ll be alright. She’ll need time, but she’ll be awake eventually.”

Hearing the answer, Ilias spared a brief moment to inspect the steel dragon on the floor. True to the dragonlord’s words, her friend’s burns had severely lessened; her breathing had likewise calmed. Missing limb or no, it seemed nothing short of a miracle.

And while the red dragon embraced her lord with teary eyes and trembling arms, Light’s frown showed no sign of disappearing.

If anything, it was growing heavier as the half girl continued to study her peculiar friend.

“Hey, Serenis?”

“Hm? Yes, Light?”

“I thought I heard you couldn’t use healing spells?”

“Huh? Oh. Um, that…well…”

“And what happened to your eyes?”

“Uh…what about my eyes?”

Light’s eyes narrowed even further as her friend questioned back at her premise. Stepping closer, Light stared into Serenis’ eyes from mere inches away, noting their golden hue.

“Your eyes used to be blue.”

“…Aren’t they still?”

“No? They’re gold.”

Serenis blinked twice in evident confusion. She quickly retreated from Ilias’ embrace, running her hands over her eyes – though that didn’t exactly allow her to see her own eyes.

Light crossed her arms, studying the dragonlord’s odd behavior.

“Why don’t you just use an ice spell or something? You can see your own reflection then.”

“…I’m…a little tired. Could you help?”

“…Seriously? You’re asking for MY help? In magic?”

“…”

‘Yeah…she wouldn’t do that, would she.’

The dragonlord let out a nervous chuckle, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. She was certainly tired, but that was purely because she’d kept herself concentrated for so long, not because she was lacking in mana.

At this point, even Ilias was catching on that something was amiss. And Light was already near-certain that she was talking to a lookalike, not her peculiar friend.

‘She’s talking weird, she’s acting weird, and she even looks weird…’

Perhaps it was all the years she’d spent studying Karas’ nigh-nonexistent facial cues.

Or perhaps it was the keen animal sense she’d been born with.

Whatever it was, the dragonlord’s little ruse wasn’t fooling the half anytime soon.

“…You’re not Serenis, are you?”