Chapter 141: Younger Sibling
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141: Younger Sibling
Meanwhile, the 1st Regiment moved to eliminate the final scheduled monster.
The silhouette of a colossal monster loomed over the desolate wasteland. Thanks to the lesser monsters that had spread like a plague, there were few left to guard the mother creature.
This one should go smoothly, too.
There were no variables on the battlefield; both condition and morale were at their peak. Olivia intended to march straight ahead and crush the super-sized monster.
"Chief of Staff! Stop!"
Suddenly, the commander of the magic company shouted an urgent warning.
"What is it?"
"A powerful energy is coalescing around the super-sized monster!"
"Energy? What kind of—"
Olivia was about to ask for specifics, but she soon felt it herself. It was a malevolence so vivid that anyone sensitive to the currents of the battlefield could feel it clearly.
As reported, that energy was swirling with the super-sized monster at its center. It pulled in white clouds, bunching them together until they grew thick and dark. The sky in that area turned gloomy in an instant.
"W-what is that...?"
The army, which had been advancing with irresistible force, faltered. Not even those specialized in weather magic could create a phenomenon where clouds gathered with such unnatural speed.
"Is a demon casting magic?"
"Everyone, defensive stance! Prepare for an attack!"
Everyone assumed it was some kind of spell cast by a monster, but Olivia knew better. She had seen clouds of that shape before.
The clouds gathered and surged until they towered high, like a mountain using the sky as its foundation.
"Could it be..."
Rumble...!
The cry of the heavens shook the earth.
KABOOM!!!
A single bolt of lightning struck down toward the super-sized monster. A pillar of light split the creature's torso, blowing it apart instantly.
The soldiers stood dazed at the incredible sight. Some called it a judgment against evil; others called it divine punishment.
Olivia called it a calamity.
In the spot where the super-sized monster had stood, a creature of similar size now stood on four legs. Despite the charred flesh and the rising white steam, even humans seeing it for the first time could recognize the silhouette.
A pair of wings and a long tail. A long snout with two pairs of horns stretching toward the sky. At a glance, one might mistake the deep blue scales for those of Iorga.
However, unlike the Aspect of Water, this being was draped in lightning. That alone revealed its identity.
—Gwahahahaha!
Storeus, the Lightning Dragon.
The most bellicose of all dragons had descended upon this place.
—That damn Godfrey! He said there was something bothering the Empire, so I thought I’d have some fun, but it’s just small fry!
He laughed as if amused, pressing his claws down on the egg the super-sized monster had been protecting.
The advancing soldiers looked bewildered by the situation.
"I-is he protecting us?"
"It seems so..."
The image of red scales standing atop the Lonely Mountain suddenly flashed through their minds. In that spirit, someone led a cheer.
"Long live the Dragon!"
"The Great Power protects us!"
Those who knew nothing of Storeus began to praise him.
"You idiots! Shut your mouths right now!"
The knight company commander shouted, trying to stem the tide. Those who knew the dragon's infamy tried to stop the soldiers, but it was already too late.
—Hmm?
The dragon's gaze was drawn by the praise. As his eyes turned toward the Allied Forces, a chill ran down their spines.
—No, it seems there are still some things left to serve as entertainment.
He grinned and raised his upper body, lifting a hand toward the sky.
Crackle!!
Two bolts of lightning grew larger and larger until they were gripped in his hands.
"W-what? What is that?"
"The monsters are all dead, so why...?"
On behalf of those who failed to grasp the situation, Olivia shouted at the top of her lungs.
"All troops, defensive stance! All mages, activate protection magic at the front!"
Only then did they realize. Storeus was an Evil Dragon who threatened humanity. An Evil Dragon shows no mercy, even to small fry.
Everyone took their formations and entered combat readiness. The lightning in Storeus's hands became two spears. They were known as Storeus's Judgment. A single one of those bolts possessed enough terrifying power to turn an entire kingdom into ashes.
And he was about to throw two of them at a single army. His intention was clearly total annihilation.
—Let’s see if you can withstand this attack, hm?
Storeus spotted something among the crowd. Among the mass of armor, he saw a head of blonde hair and blue eyes. Her beauty was famous even among dragons.
—Haha! Olivia! You cute little puppy! You were there!
With a boisterous laugh, the terrifying lightning spears dissipated into the air. The scattered electricity caused everyone's hair to stand on end.
—I can't touch an army where Olivia is, now can I! Well then! It's a shame, but I'll be going now!
Storeus spread his wings and flew into the thunderclouds. As his form vanished, the clouds dispersed, and the sky regained its original color.
A dragon that arrived like a storm and vanished like a storm. He truly lived up to the title of the Aspect of Lightning.
Though only a minute had passed, the soldiers looked as if they had aged ten years. Cold sweat poured down Olivia's face as well.
However, it wasn't just because of Storeus. It was because of the being who could move Storeus, the Lightning Dragon.
The Emperor...
Godfrey Arken, known to the world as an incompetent emperor. Only he could move the Lightning Dragon; only he could command him.
Olivia grit her teeth. The subjugation war, which she thought would be a smooth stepping stone, would no longer go according to her plans.
* * *
Immediately after the Start of Spring Festival, the sudden monster commotion came to an end. The siege the monsters had formed was completely broken, and news of victory arrived from all quarters.
Isabella compiled the battle results and reported to Ferda.
—Out of the total 6,253 troops, the death toll has been tallied at 220.
"An incredible achievement."
—Indeed. Even considering all factors, this success cannot be ignored.
A hint of pride colored Isabella's voice. It was clear she felt like a true member of Valdrova Castle and the administrator of Hestia Village.
Of the deceased, 170 were from the Far East Union led by Consilus, which was an average figure. Most of those casualties occurred during the first battle, when the monsters were clustered around the mothers.
This will further increase the value of the Tactical Infantry.
The Tactical Infantry certainly offered great cost-effectiveness. They might cost a bit more than spearmen, but they were far superior in terms of training difficulty and operation. They would make excellent reservists later on.
This news was good for Ferda's territory and the surrounding areas.
—Also, we've received word from the Pascal Trading Company and Halim.
"Why from Halim?"
—They want to send festival goods as a gesture of comfort for the hard work over the past month. They said they would provide two days' worth of festival supplies and two months' worth of food.
They were reliable allies indeed. He had expected it from the Pascal Trading Company since they were in the same boat, but he hadn't expected Halim to be so considerate.
"Tell them I'm grateful. You're working hard despite the exhaustion, Administrator."
—The hardest work is when it's meaningless. I'm enjoying myself right now, so it's fine. Please return safely.
Enjoyment, huh.
Yes, outside the tent, most were in a festive mood. "Most," because the subordinates of Count Nazarov's son were not. They must be feeling like death, wondering how to explain the fact that he had charged in like a moth to a flame.
Unless one was involved with him, the battle results brought nothing but joy.
Or so it should be...
There was one person who felt no joy, even though she wasn't related to Dmitri. Ferda turned his gaze to see her.
Ruri was standing in a corner of the large tent. Because of her businesslike expression, those around her likely wouldn't have noticed, but Ferda was different. He could feel the anxiety in her heart.
"Ruri."
"..."
"Ruri?"
Ruri started and looked up.
"Yes, did you call?"
"You were spacing out."
"...I apologize. I had a few things on my mind. Is there something you need?"
"I'd like a cup of tea. Chamomile, since I'll be sleeping soon."
"Yes."
Ruri brewed the chamomile as requested. As she looked down at the tea, she seemed even more sorrowful.
She was like that when we reunited, too.
Ruri, who had gone ahead to the point, had simply replied that she failed without offering a long explanation. Just as a demon had crawled into Helus's mansion, there had been a demon where she was.
And it was a Gokma.
It was a situation where failure was inevitable, and he hadn't been particularly disappointed by that failure. But for the stigma of failure to grip her so tightly, there had to be something more. There was undoubtedly another story Ferda didn't know.
"Lord Ferda."
While waiting for the tea to steep, she spoke with difficulty.
"What is it?"
"...It's nothing."
And she closed her mouth again. Ferda didn't let it go.
"You can tell me."
"..."
Ferda waited patiently for her to speak again. But Ruri simply poured the tea in silence, struggling to find the words.
"Never mind then," Ferda said, picking up the cup. "If you don't want to talk now, don't say anything."
"I'm... sorry."
"There's no need to be sorry. As long as you're safe, that's enough for me."
"..."
"When the time comes that you want to talk, you can tell me then. Just take your time and think today."
Hearing those words, a slight feeling of resentment rose within Ruri. He shouldn't have added that last part. It made her mistake his words for a promise to wait for her anytime, rather than just indifference.
Even though she knew it might be a delusion, Ruri found herself speaking.
"Lord Ferda..."
Because if a moment of collapse ever came, she wanted to lean on this man.
"Have you ever had a younger sibling?"
"A younger sibling?"
He was the third son among three sons and three daughters.
"I never had one."
"I... had a younger brother," she said with effort. "Back when I was a mortal, like other Dragon Spawn."
She began to tell the story of her past, which she had never shared with anyone.
* * *
Dragon Spawn are often called the children of dragons. This is because they regard the dragon as their father and obey him absolutely. In fact, they are closer than actual families, with a bond stronger than that of elves.
However, they are not actually born of dragons. Some were humans, some were elves, and some were even orcs. Anyone with intelligence could become a Dragon Spawn through the Ascension Ceremony, so their appearances varied by race.
Ruri had been an ordinary child living a miserable life as a commoner. Back then, she didn't have the name Ruri, nor did she have silver hair.
When Ruri was born, her baptism was one of curses rather than joy for a new life. To the lower classes, a daughter was a burden who would eventually leave them, unlike a son.
Ruri's father was particularly resentful of this. He lived with the words "Why bother raising a burden instead of a helping hand?" constantly on his lips. Whenever she put a spoonful of food in her mouth, she was met with her father's clicking tongue and looks of contempt.
The only reason she could survive was because of her mother. Having finally conceived a daughter after much difficulty, she was devoted to young Ruri. Ruri followed her mother and proved her worth by begging, using her pity-inducing appearance to garner scraps.
But change came all at once. Ruri's mother gave birth to a son.
With the birth of a boy to carry on the family line, her father smiled for the first time, and her mother's attitude turned cold in an instant. Neither her father nor her mother gave her any more affection. Eventually treated as a useless mouth to feed, she was sold to an orphanage before her brother even turned a year old.
She had been abandoned by her family.
She was depressed for several months over the grief of losing her family, but the situation wasn't bad. No, it was actually good. The director was very kind to Ruri. The shock of being abandoned by her parents was healed by his devotion. Ruri followed the director like a father.
But that was short-lived. As she grew older, Ruri faced an uncomfortable truth. The orphanage was actually a child auction house.
The children's potential was graded, and their treatment varied according to that grade. Ruri was at the very top of the A-rank. It meant she was smart enough and beautiful enough to have the potential to be sold to a noble house in the future. The director had poured money into her not to raise her, but to turn her into a suitable product.
A sense of betrayal surged. All those words about seeing her as a daughter, as a human being, were lies. What kind of father in the world sees his child as money and judges them?
She made a vow. Rather than live as someone's doll, she would rather live as a human in the gutters.
Ruri escaped from the orphanage. The director was furious and organized a pursuit team, but she narrowly managed to lose them and successfully slipped into a neighboring kingdom.
With not a penny to her name, she made a home in a corner of the kingdom's sewers. Though it smelled and the floor was hard, it was more comfortable than anywhere else. Having lived on such harsh ground, her personality naturally became rough and fierce.
When Ruri was twelve years old, an uninvited guest arrived at her comfortable home. Thinking it was a mad beggar, she gripped a makeshift blade for intimidation.
However, the figure that appeared was different from what she expected. Standing there was a boy much younger than her twelve-year-old self. His nose was running, and his body was covered in bruises. Even Ruri, who considered herself miserable, felt that her complaints were a luxury compared to the boy's wretched state.
The boy sniffled and asked:
—Big sister, do you have anything to eat?
If any other beggar had said that, she would have screamed at them to get out immediately. But the moment she saw his eyes, Ruri was overwhelmed. They held a pure light that couldn't be found in the gutters. Seeing that alien color that didn't fit his miserable situation, Ruri thought:
I have to protect this child.
What a mere twelve-year-old felt for a boy she had just met was a profound sense of responsibility.
Ruri brought the boy into her home. She shared her food, changed his clothes, and covered him with a blanket. Her comfortable home became even more cramped, but it felt warmer than before.
Ruri thus became the older sister to a boy she had just met. For the first time, she could truly feel the meaning of the word "family."
Ruri did everything with her brother. They went out together to beg and rummaged through trash cans. Since there was another mouth to feed, the days spent in hunger increased, but on the rare days they could eat their fill, they used that happiness as their driving force.
Once, while wandering out of the sewers in search of food, Ruri and the boy saw a child around their age. Unlike them, who couldn't escape the back alleys, that child was walking down the main street. One hand was held by their mother, and the other held something delicious.
Seeing that, a sense of inferiority and misery filled Ruri's heart.
—I wish we could eat something like that, too.
The innocent boy said as he squeezed Ruri's hand. With those words, Ruri found a dream. She vowed that one day, she would make it so her young brother could live like that.
Ruri wanted to become an adult quickly. Once she was an adult, there would be more things she could do, and she could save money. If she saved money, they could live in a house with a roof instead of a sewer.
Having a dream made tomorrow strangely bearable. If they kept living, a day would come when they could look back on this time as just a memory.
But that dream was shattered. War broke out. No, it was closer to a one-sided annihilation than a war.
That day, Ruri and most of the citizens didn't know the cause. The king of the city where they resided had insulted a dragon and touched its Reverse Scale.
Over a hundred Dragon Spawn flew in without warning, covering the kingdom like a rain of meteors. Sturdy castle walls crumbled, and houses went up in flames. It took only an hour for the city to become ruins.
After running blindly through the roar, she opened her eyes to see the ruined land. The smell of ash stung her nose, and she felt an emptiness in her chest.
Ruri looked down at her arms. That was where her brother should have been. But there was nothing.
It was strange. In her memory, she had been hugging her brother at the end. Ruri called out his name. She cried out desperately for that name, which she could no longer remember now.
When there was no answer for a long time, she stood up and rummaged through the debris. Since they were together, he had to be nearby. But all she could grasp were fragments of collapsed walls and gray ash. There was no sign of her brother anywhere.
Ruri's mind, which had moved until she was breathless, swirled with questions. Her brother was gone, so how had she survived so perfectly? If they had been holding hands, they should have lived or died together. That meant Ruri had let go of her brother's hand.
But since when? When the meteors and lightning poured down? When she lost consciousness from the screams and the intense heat? Immediately after, when the rain of rocks fell and everything was chaotic?
Then, she erased it all from her mind. It didn't matter when. Ruri had survived alone, and her brother had vanished without a trace. She thought she had given him affection and cherished him, but when faced with death, she had coldly become a stranger.
She was the same as everyone else. Her parents. The orphanage director. And herself. They were all equally selfish humans.
—I'm... sorry.
She spoke to her brother, who no longer had a form.
—I'm sorry for surviving alone...
Having failed her responsibility, she became literally empty. Having lost a part of her life, she waited for death.
But death did not come. Ironically, it was a dragon who took Ruri in. A middle-aged man with silver hair. He gave her his blood with a bright smile. The silver-haired man had performed an impromptu Ascension Ceremony on the spot.
—I shall call you Ruri from now on. Forget your painful past. Just think about how you will live from now on.
Her empty emotions were filled once again by the man's smile. The Ascension Ceremony was a ritual to forget the past and move forward. It made one forget their original hair and eye color, casting away the meaning of all past memories as if they were but a dream.
However, even in that ritual of discarding everything, Ruri held one thing in her heart.
Responsibility.
The same responsibility she felt when she took in a boy in the gutters became her pillar. That responsibility was now directed toward Silverwind.
Ruri thought: she would use her mistake as a stepping stone and live for this great being. Ruri decided to become a warrior.
And another hardship began from that moment.