Chapter 290
Chapter 290
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 290
Chapter Title: The Key to the Nine Myriad Long Heaven (6)
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Abel, who had been sitting cross-legged atop the magic circle scattering purple mana, suddenly opened her eyes. She turned her gaze toward somewhere on the horizon visible through the window and spoke.
“Fernandez.”
“What is it?”
“A dragon is coming.”
“……What?”
Fernandez had been focusing on amplifying the divinity of the goddess slumbering within Abel’s body and the presence of the dragon she herself harbored, to the utmost. It was no simple task. He had to reveal only their presence without consuming her lifespan or power.
Fernandez opened his eyes without stopping his hand seals. Abel’s gaze was wavering. A draconic aura began surging from deep within her. Fernandez quickly reached out and grasped her slender wrist.
“Calm yourself.”
“Fernandez……! I…… I…….”
“It’s not certain yet.”
“No, I can feel it. This sensation……. This familiar feeling……. It’s a dragon. It’s still alive. It’s still alive after all this time…….”
Abel looked on the verge of bursting into tears right then and there. It was only natural. Fernandez could understand the shock and sorrow she must be feeling.
Once, she had called her own situation that of a castaway. Adrift without a home, wandering far from where she belonged for an endless time. It was sad, but true.
In this era, ever since reopening her eyes, the remnants of the past she had witnessed…… were utterly miserable, according to those beings who still remembered her. Her kin had been wiped out, and Karadpellin and Sadarkelia, who remembered her, had died in distant dimensions.
Now, the only thread holding her was Fernandez alone. Blind though it might be, he understood. To her, he was the sole proof of her origins left in reality.
If a kin she thought dead were to appear before such a woman. Or in reverse. If his son from a previous life, or even Aria, appeared before Fernandez. Could he maintain his composure? No, impossible.
“We’ll see for ourselves. Not yet.”
“Fernandez…….”
“Let’s go.”
He gripped her wrist and left the spire. The deck was swarming with people running about.
* * *
“A draaaagon is cooooming!!”
“Cannon!! Ready the cannons!! Prepare to fire!!”
“Load live rounds! Not blanks! Live rounds!!”
The Wildprinces were rampaging, urging on the sailors. Amid the chaos, finding Leia was no trouble. The regent and mages were piling protective spells on her for protection.
Their near-mad paranoia toward elves was unavoidable. The only existence capable of damaging the king’s flagship was approaching. And from the direction of a virtual enemy nation at that. Whether they could stop it or not was beside the point. For the fate of their race, they had to try.
“It’s here!!”
A red dot appeared on the horizon. The moment it registered as a dot, it swelled to the size of a coin, and by the time they gauged its approach, it was already palm-sized. An immense speed, and yet its size from that still-distant range was unbelievable!
“Fire!!”
“Hold!!”
Fernandez shouted as he dashed forward. The elves flinched at his words. Even the elves pushed to near-panic by survival instinct hesitated at his command.
The slayer of two Serpent Kings. Dragon rider. And one beloved by Queen Leia. Such titles held irresistible authority among elves who revered their monarch as a god.
“Queen Leia! Calm your people!”
“Are you certain that dragon isn’t an enemy?”
“No! But we must speak first! Evacuate the people below deck.”
“A dragon’s breath will pierce the flagship’s defenses…….”
“I will!”
Fernandez extended his hand and declared. As his fingers wove through the air, a black halo ignited behind his head. Leia fell silent at the sight. Ah, this man too…… is one who could destroy the elf king’s flagship.
“I’ll protect it. Trust me?”
“The most among all humans.”
“Then leave only yourself and your retainers, and evacuate the people.”
“Understood.”
The most vital figure, who should be evacuated to the safest place, would remain. No elf dared oppose her words. It was the posture of the noblest sovereign. As the queen regained her calm, the deck’s chaos swiftly subsided.
-Shing.
Leia sheathed the longsword she had drawn for command. She drew a long breath in…… and exhaled. One index finger lightly atop the hilt—an apparently defenseless stance—
All the Wildprinces assumed the same posture, half-lidded eyes fixed on the approaching dragon. It was the starting form of elven martial arts. That apparent vulnerability was like a serpent’s fang poised for the deadliest strike.
Thus, serpents they were. Sea serpents. Venomous serpents vowing to bite even a dragon’s scales once, glaring at the oncoming behemoth.
-Rumble!!
Waves rose from the fierce wind pressure of the dragon’s wingbeats. Numerous griffons floated near the dragon. Fernandez narrowed his eyes, peering at them.
It was upon them now. Atop the dragon’s head sat a figure. Jerolen……. A young elf with a crown tilted jauntily looked down upon them. Elf knights astride griffons surrounded him.
* * *
-Kaboom!
Red scales blazed under the noonday sun. The flagship’s deck was vast enough for an army encampment, but the dragon’s colossal bulk and presence made the entire ship feel as if it were sinking.
Leia’s knights stared at the dragon, hands on their sword hilts. If that maw opened, if its breath drew inward. Even at the cost of death, they were resolved to shatter a single scale.
Killing intent swirled fiercely. The same aura flowed from the griffon riders gliding overhead.
Then, the dragon lowered its head. Its sky-blue eyes scanned the surroundings carefully before locking onto one spot.
Fernandez and Abel behind him.
[Abelesas……?]
“This voice…… Rishir. It’s you.”
[How…… are you alive?]
No hostility emanated from the dragon. Some knights gripped their hilts in alarm at its rumbling voice, but none rashly attacked.
At least it can communicate. Leia sighed deeply and stepped forward.
“Reunions can wait. Ataillatl. More pressing matters first. Come forth, Jerolen!”
“Fearless young one.”
Golden hair billowed from behind the dragon’s head. A tall elven youth leaped gracefully onto the deck, standing tall. His ultramarine cloak, embroidered with ornate decorations, fluttered in the wind, making his sturdy frame appear even more imposing.
“You must be the Serpent King of this age? Hmm……. Gaimeirn’s daughter, then.”
“……Yes.”
“Is your father dead? That fool tried to pass on generations that way, and look—his own child took his head.”
He glanced around with a chuckle and spoke.
“First time for such a welcome, but for a trap, it’s rather polite. Didn’t you call me here?”
“Yes, Jerolen. I…….”
“Hold.”
He turned to the Wildriders still glaring murderously at him. To elves, Serpent Kings were gods. Eternal kings who had led their race since the War in the Heavens. Facing such a being without losing spirit, he regarded his kin with a deep smile.
“Splendid. I know not your martial prowess or skill, but that spirit rivals the old days. Yet this is king against king. Even in distinguishing friend from foe, we must observe decorum, no? Elite warriors, sheathe your blades and stand down. At least today, no elf blood will stain the sea.”
His words were quiet but commanding. The Wildriders flinched and looked to their queen. Leia regarded Jerolen with complex eyes, then shook her head.
“Prepare a banquet. We’ll confer after.”
“Hah! To think such a daughter came from that arrogant Gaimeirn. Truly, one must live long to see all. Lagras!!”
“Yes!! Your Highness!!”
He called to the sky, and the riders hovering above, gripping weapons as they overlooked the deck, responded in unison. Jerolen spread his arms and shouted.
“Descend and feast! Mustn’t we see how splendid the hospitality of foreign kin can be?!”
“Yes, Your Highness!!”
Feathers scattered as griffons began landing on the deck one by one. Amid the rain of griffon plumes, Jerolen strode straight to Leia and extended his hand.
“Facing my kin’s new era gladdens me. Serpent Queen Gaimeirn.”
Gazing at the Eternal King’s smile, Leia clasped and shook his hand. It was the moment the first diplomacy between elves since the War in the Heavens came to pass.
* * *
Even as the elves headed to the banquet hall, some remained rooted in place. The two dragons staring at each other on the deck were such. Ignoring the surrounding clamor, the dragons simply gazed into each other’s eyes.
[Abelesas……. You truly lived.]
“My throat aches, Rishir. Is this how you greet an old friend after so long?”
[Ah…… I lost myself.]
Whoosh, flames enveloped the scales, and from beneath emerged a woman with red tresses. She approached Abel, gently placing a hand on her cheek and closing her eyes.
“I missed you, Abel. You, and everyone.”
“You endured long years, Rishir. The child has grown so, hard to recognize.”
“I…… thought I was abandoned. What happened? Why no word if you lived……? How did you survive?”
Much had passed since the War in the Heavens. An age had turned. Even to immortals, a millennium weighed heavy. Dragons boasting eternal life were not truly deathless. As time accumulated, memories became madness-like shards embedded in the heart.
Many dragons had waned. Immortal or not, did that grant eternity? Dragons fallen to madness were slain by mortals called “heroes,” while others withered cursing their own degeneration.
Thus dragons faded. Slowly, into time. For a line extinct, it was long. The last dragon’s trace vanished five centuries past. Before legend, nigh myth.
“I died. Revived two years ago.”
“Dragons are returning……?”
“No. I’m a miracle’s fluke. Rishir, the age of dragons has ended.”
At Abel’s words, Lacrishir burst into tears. Hope is crueler when traces of absence are found. Better ignorance, better lack—then this calm. As she had lived.
Yet the dirge from her revived kin struck heavier than unheard moments.
“I…….”
“When I hatched, over a hundred kin remained; when you did, some fifty.”
Karadpellin, Sadarkelia, Abelesas, Lacrishir. Four dragons left in this era……
“When I died, you alone would remain. Rishir, that…… is unbearable. How lonely. How heartbreaking.”
With tear-wet eyes, Abel stroked the back of Lacrishir embraced in her arms. She had not witnessed her race’s end. Dead by then. She knew extinction loomed but never took it gravely.
But Rishir, this young dragon, had. She faced every moment alive. Her siblings, parents fading into time. And no new progeny appearing.
Younger dragons couldn’t endure the changing world. Older ones rusted under its weight. Her survival—blessing or curse? Abel couldn’t say.
“How did you live again?”
“Eii’s power. A miracle’s impossible convergence.”
Abel turned slightly, and Fernandez stepped forward. He looked awkwardly at Lacrishir’s tear-streaked face.
“Pleased to meet you. An honor to face this era’s last dragon. I’m Fernandez Cerned.”
“Perhaps our kind’s trait to lose hearts to mortals.”
Abel teased, and Lishir blushed, bowing her head. Abel stroked her hair and said.
“Tell her of your lover too?”
“With pleasure.”