Chapter 2
Border between the Empire and the Dragon Valley
Walled City of Preblica
The city of Preblica was built in the shadow of an enormous mountain and is truly an ever growing phenomenon. Its wonder is matched by the backdrop of a majestic mountain which has helped shape the city to what it is today. The riches these mountains brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings were designed with shapes and elements found in the mountains.
The skyline is packed with elegant skyscrapers and each seems to evolve with the times without losing their history. Business is booming in Sunhold and it has attracted a lot of attention. Various cultures have left their mark not just on education, but also upon the city's identity. What historically was a city of no variation has grown into a large melting pot and it's this that unites nearly a million people to this day.
It's this multicultural identity that has truly left its mark. Hundreds of ethnic restaurants, sandwich bars and food carts offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy concerts, aerobics, sightseeing or one of the many other recreational venues.
The once great city was now a graveyard.
Black fire that consumed and melted everything it touched. Everything was gone, nothing was left. The people were left with nothing but memories and ashes. The city was in a state of complete devastation.
"Bssh!" A single pair of arms removed the rumble off himself.
A young man around the age of twenty escaped from the rumble. The young man had white and sky-blue eyes. He wore a black shirt, a red salamander cloak that was now burnt to a crisp, combat boots, gauntlets, and a sword on his hip.
He looked around, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock. He slowly stood up and walked forward, surveying the destruction around him. He took a deep breath and he looked up to see the thing responsible for the destruction around himself.
A body of pure black, wings like the night sky, and an eye of crimson red. The Dragon was a frightening vision, a horrendous sight, and its frame alone was enough to render his legs weak and make his mind lose focus. Its size was massive, enormous, easily reaching 18 meters in height and over 400 feet in length. It was so huge that it looked like a mountain, with a horrifying head with small black horns around it and razor-sharp teeth. It was honestly horrifying, so much so that he could even feel his legs start to tremble in fear at the sight of that beast flying above the city and spitting fire all over it.
"No wonder that thing killed the Old Hag's Familia." The young man thought only for a second before his body moved on instinct.
The dragon was looking at him with arrogance and disgust. As if his survival was considered the worst sin ever imaginable to the dragon.
"...running away isn't much of an option." The young man thought grimmly before sighing internally, "It's not like I was doing much with my life." The young man shrugged.
"Enchant - Boost Strength."
"Enchant - Boost Agility."
"Enchant - Boost Dexterity"
"Enchant - Boost Endurance"
"Enchant - Boost Magic"
A multitude of colors covered the young man from head to toe. He felt himself grow stronger yet he knew it would not be enough to fight the dragon head-on.
He drew his sword from its sheath. On the blade itself laid countless runes he instinctively knew along with what he learned throughout his life. Each rune was carefully carved to perfection onto his trusted weapon to make it the best weapon on Tenkai. It could carve mountains to dust, and split the oceans and sky.
The young man broke into a sprint and charged at the embodiment of death.
Dragon and human clashed with a roar of the wind.
The air moaned and cried when the battle became a melee, with the Dragon lunging at the tiny human with its claws, forcing him to block the beast's massive paw with his blade and knocking him off his feet. Then, the Dragon brought its jagged fangs down toward the young man, forcing him to roll away at the last second and leap away. The dragon's head slammed on the ground, and the young man tried to return the favor by slashing its nose with a lightning-fast swing. The black beast reared up onto its back legs, roaring with a bestial fury as the blade slammed against its face.
But the monstrous "Tyrant of the Sky" would not be hurt by such a futile assault. Much to the young man's shock, it held on with its sharp claws, stabbing them into the ground and then using its tail like a whip to force him away. The black tail slashed the air with an invisible speed, and the young man barely managed to leap away at the last split-second, avoiding the slash by miracle. Then, the young man roared his rage and charged again, batting the Dragon's claws away and slashing it furiously on the neck and shoulder.
The monster roared and growled in rage, surprised by the speed of its opponent, but the attacks did no damage despite his speed and strength. The young man's sword was a fine blade, sharp and resistant thanks to its composition, but it wasn't enough to pierce the scales of the One-Eyed Dragon. Its armor was simply too powerful to be broken by his attacks.
"I'm…just…a fly…to it." The young man spared a thought to the difference in power between him and his opponent.
Once again, the Dragon reacted with overwhelming power. Its roar alone made the air shake and the ground tremble, and the young man cursed and screamed in surprise as a shockwave generated by the roar slammed against him, throwing him away like – ironically – a fly. As he crashed against the remains of a building placed a few dozen meters away from the beast, the young man spat a bit of blood from his lips and ignored the pain in his ribcage. All the while, the towering King of Monsters slashed and trashed and spat fire from its maw. Creating valleys of fire and death around them.
The young man struggled to get up from the debris, his chest throbbing with pain due to the impact. His boots sunk deep into the muck that was equal parts mud, water, and blood; while fires that wouldn't be extinguished by rain licked the ground hungrily around him. On the right, corpses formed mounds that quickly began to resemble hills, and the screams of civilians and people hung desperately in the wind.
He hated it. He hated it all.
He hated it and yet his enemy seemed to revel in the death. For every soldier and Adventurer of the Empire that it killed, crushed, or burned; the Dragon's assault and onslaught only grew, relentlessly. Its pleasure and amusement could clearly be seen in its crimson-blood eye, followed by an aura of cruelty and enjoyment. The beast was killing and ravaging and destroying, finding great pleasure in doing so. It killed and devoured with a smile on its face and glee in its eye. The young man couldn't understand how someone could love death so much.
But it was sickening. Rightfully so. He could not allow this beast to ravage and destroy as it pleased. He had to kill it, no matter what.
With a powerful battle cry, he raised his sword and charged again.
Metal clashed against scales, as the young man darted through the air like a living bullet. The Black Dragon blocked his charge with its claws, roaring and laughing as he pushed the small assailant away with its paw. The small human visibly struggled against its immense strength, his legs sinking into the ground as he desperately tried to push the gigantic enemy back and resist.
"I…may…die here…but not…alone." The young man wheezed out
At his declaration, the dragon roared as if mocking him to try to kill it. The young man grinds his teeth together looking for any way to injure it.
The Dragon charged again, slashing at the human with overwhelming strength. The young man leaped away and avoided the charge this time, unwilling to meet the attack head-on. His previous attempts had only proved to him that he could never hope to match the Dragon's attacks despite his Divine nature and his powers. Its strength was simply too much to be handled by a mortal body, no matter the race and level.
Yet, the beast did not relent. It kept chasing him and attacking furiously, destroying more and more of the city with each assault in an attempt to slash and bite the tiny human fleeing from it. There was no form in its attacks, nothing for the young man to recognize or preempt. It was charging and slashing, and roaring like a mad monster, even attempting to spit fire on several occasions. The One-Eyed Dragon was fighting on animal instinct, and the only defense was instinct.
However, as he was desperately trying to avoid the charge, the young man made a mistake.
He leaped away from an incoming slash too soon, far too soon, leaving him at the mercy of the Dragon's second attack. Panic pricked at his mind, and as he flew in the air he looked over his shoulder to find the Dragon's tail whipping towards him at a lightning-fast speed. His eyes widened in horror and fear, and the young man tried to block the attack with his sword, but it was too late.
The tail slammed against the sword's blade with a powerful snap, and he paid the blow in full. The impact took all the air away from the young man's lungs, and he was promptly thrown away like a living arrow, sending him into the air for at least an entire mile, screaming in pain all the while. Eventually, he landed on the opposite side of the blazing city, crashing against the walls surrounding its borders with an explosion of dust and stone.
"H…ea…l." The young man wheezed out. His conscious was switching between reality and the darkness that awaits him in death. The spell managed to close the gashes and stop the bleeding, but his exhaustion remained in full. On the contrary, it was growing by the second.
As much as he hated to admit it, at this rate, he was surely going to get killed.
Heh, after so long of wanting to end his lonely existence his wish was about to be granted by the thing he hated the most. The monster ruined his happy life with his family.
"Live." A familiar voice entered his ear. It was like a soothing bell that helped him ignore the pain he was in for a moment allowing him to strategise.
"Strength. Conviction. Wisdom. Magic. Forest. Druidry." The young man intones as he starts pulling all the power he could. Powering every once of power he had in the puddle of his own blood to create the necessary runes for his spell.
A magic circle appeared below his feat with the runes inscribed into it. Sowilo (ᛊ), Kenaz (ᚲ), Othala (ᛟ), Laguz (ᛚ), and Laguz (ᛚ).
As the dragon was about to unleash another blast of fire at me, roots came bursting out of the ground. Within a millisecond the dragon caged in tree branches. The dragon tried to escape his wooden prison. Yet no matter how many times he burned and slashed his prison it would regrow faster than it could move.
No one could even imagine that the One-eye Black Dragon could be held. Especially by a tree of all things.
The young man stood up despite the tiredness and pain coursing through him. The young had to kill the dragon fast. The prison will only last a minute or two and after that, he dies and the dragon will continue his path of destruction.
As he started analyzing the dragon. Every story, theory, and the first-hand account he heard but the Dragon was too strong, and the glare it was sending him with its crimson eye was filled with malice and hatred―
…wait.
A small idea blossomed inside his mind.
Realization dawned upon him.
Its eye!
Looks like the Sword Champion's sacrifice won't be in vain!
Just as the young man found the one and only weak spot the dragon had and broke free.
A terrifying, ear-splitting roar echoed from the beast's maw. But the young man wouldn't let himself be intimidated this time.
He steeled his resolve, cleared his mind, and brought the silver sword in front of him, pointed at the monster.
He had one chance. One moment. One shot. He could not afford to fail.
The air burned. The earth shook. The world paused.
And the beast was getting closer.
The young man focused all his remaining energy in his legs, placing himself in a battle stance.
Then, the Black Dragon lunged at him with its maw open and a roar.
"RRRAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRRRRR!"
And he uttered one, single spell.
"Wind!"
The Wind from the spell and the surrounding wind created a devastating hurricane. The hurricane shot through the empty eye socket of the One Eye Black Dragon. Once in there the hurricane ripped apart the dragon's head with great ease.
Gravity soon caught the young man as he was now falling to the ground. Along with the corpse of the Black Dragon falling above him.
"I…did…it. Now go fuck yourself you Bitch." The young man said as he closed his eyes.
(***)
Meteria stared at her with her mouth agape. The disbelief was clearly visible on her gentle face.
"Y-You… You're pregnant?" she breathed.
For the first time ever since they were kids, her sister wouldn't dare to meet her eyes.
Sheer silence echoed inside the room.
Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the woman found herself wrapped in a bone-crushing hug.
"OhmygodohmygodohmyGod!" Meteria cried and laughed and jumped all while, bouncing on her legs like a little bundle of happiness. "I can't believe it! You're pregnant! You're going to have a baby!"
Alfia found herself blushing in spite of the shame she was feeling inside.
"E-Enough, Meteria! Unhand me at once!" she hissed in exasperation, struggling to break away from her sister's hug.
The woman with ashen-white hair finally released her, her face trickling with tears of joy. "I can't believe it! My sister is pregnant… I'm going to be an aunt!" she exclaimed, her face gleaming with glee.
Her sister donned a hand on her face with a groan, trying to hide her ashamed blush.
Sadly, it didn't work.
(***)
Light entered my eyes as I stared at the fading sun. As I tried to get up, pain erupted through my body.
"Grrgh. Really wished the fall had killed me." I spoke out to no one.
I could not feel my arms and legs anymore, but I was painfully aware of the pain in his chest and back. Blood covered my body from head to toe, and while a great amount of it came from the Dragon, I was willing to bet that the majority of it was mine. Even the grass around me was wet with crimson liquid, and the air smelled like the taste of iron.
Slowly, I managed to open my lips and gulp air. His mouth was dry and his tongue numb, but that simple gesture made his throat burn in pain as soon as air entered his body. My body twitched, and I slowly managed to move his head slightly to the left, gazing upon the world with tired, half-lidded eyes.
The Dragon's dead body lay lifeless about ten meters away from me, unmoving and yet towering above him with its shadow.
"So it wasn't a dream." I said, wincing in pain. "HHHHAAAAAHHHHHH."
I started laughing maniacally and I continue to do so. Despite the pain and agony O felt throughout my body I couldn't help but laugh in pure joy. The monster that destroyed my happy life was now gone. My family could now rest knowing their greatest failure was now undone.
Yet a bitter taste entered my mouth as I remembered the Bitch. A part of me hated that I proved her method right. That the tragedy that she helped make was all worth it so that the One-Eye Black Dragon would die.
No matter what, I was going to die, which was fine by me. I was satisfied with this ending, there will be no songs or ballads singing my name throughout the ages. I would be another ghost in the wake of the One-Eye Black Dragon. Not a Hero of Legends.
"I'll…see…you…soon…Auntie." I said as I dipped my finger in a pool of his blood and started painting a crude rune. I didn't want anybody to associate me with the death of the One-eye Black Dragon.
My body will be nothing more than ashes to the wind once people see the corpse.
"No. You shall not die today, Hero." A gentle voice entered his ears, and looked up to see a somewhat familiar face.
"Th..e sword...princess?" I said out loud in confusion. The woman was nearly a spitting image of the little girl he had seen seven years ago. The woman let out a wistful sigh.
The woman above him was way older than the Sword Princess of the Loki Famailia. Another thing was her eyes, the Sword Princess had eyes filled with hatred, the woman's eyes however held kindness.
A kindness that reminded him of Aunt Meteria.
"Albert would have loved that name. But no, I'm Aria the Great Wind Spirit and husband to Albert Waldstein" Aria said, and I blinked at what she said. Albert...don't fucking tell me.
"Yes, my husband would have squealed at our little Aiz on getting a title similar to his own." The woman said as she looked down at me with great pity and sadness.
"What is your name?" Aria asked and I blinked before sighing internally.
"Ashton." I said my name
"You killed the Dragon, freed me, and avenged my husband. I can't let a brave Hero like yourself die like this. I have enough power to heal you before I lose my physical form." As Aria's hand begins to glow. I immediately grabbed her hand.
"Save it. Go see your daughter, she misses you a lot." I said
"I know she does. I have heard her wind crying in anguish for many years." Aria said
"Good you can leave to die in peace." I said
"I will not allow it." Aria said as she began to glow, "A brave Hero like yourself deserves a chance to live a full life. I will see my daughter again no matter how long it takes." Aria
"Don't you dare!" I yelled as I tried to force my body to move.
"Divine Child, may I ask you a simple request?" Aria spoke of my greatest secret out loud. My eyes widened.
"H..ow!?" Ashton yelled
"If I could have a child why can't a God?" Aria said, smiling as her entire being began to glow.
"Don't you dare!" Ashton shouted, but Aria wouldn't listen.
"Tell my daughter we will meet again. Even if it takes centuries, we will meet again." Aria said with a small smile
"Tell her that yourself!" I shouted,
"I apologize for my selfishness, but you deserve to live a full life, Brave Hero."
I couldn't resist anymore. His exhaustion finally slammed on him once again, even if a sense of warmth began spreading through his body, coming from the hand on his chest and making the pain disappear and his mind relax gradually.
(***)
"But still! You, pregnant?!" Meteria could not believe it, no matter how long she tried to process it. "You, who would always panic and get mad at every man's attempt to approach you? Who would always blush and stutter at the mere thought of something perve―"
"Enough already, Meteria!" Alfia cut her off sternly, blocking her mouth with one hand in a swift movement. Her sister could almost swear she saw tears of shame forming in her heterochromatic eyes. "I get it! It was a mistake! A moment of weakness on my part!"
Her eyes widened. "Mistake? What are you saying, Alfia! You're going to be a mom! What's so wrong about that?"
The woman's gaze fell, her fists clenched in a mixture of fury, shame, and regret.
"…it shouldn't have happened," she hissed with a broken voice.
Meteria gasped, raising a hand to her lips. "W-What?"
Once again, her sister wouldn't answer, unable to meet her gaze.
A horrible realization began to blossom on the kind woman's face. Her brows furrowed in concern.
"Alfia… who is the father?"