8 Chapter 8: Creation Nature Life

Everyone was dumbfounded at the words Ethan just said. 

Sure, they have come to propose a marriage alliance, but not like this.

It should be us stating terms and you agreeing, not you choosing who to marry!

Wait, did he just say them? He'll marry THEM?!

Cough! Cough! Cough!

The old man from Iceberg who had been the one to do the talking coughed violently.

Ethan looked at the old man, "You sick?"

The old man coughed once more then cleared his throat. "Ahem, His Highness must be joking. We have come with sincerity and to negotiate peacefully.

As we all know, our Kingdom's Crown Prince and Princes are all already married and unsuitable to be matched for Her Majesty, Queen Irene, for marriage.

Thus, we have chosen our strongest and mightiest General and have come with sincerity. 

And with His Highness's sudden appearance, we, we can't decide if His Majesty, our King would agree to your proposal."

Ethan raised an eyebrow, "Oh? So, what do you propose now? This droopy-eyed Genaral marrying my sister, the Queen is not possible.

If your kingdom's Princes' are all already married, you wouldn't think we would agree to my sister, the Queen, being a second wife or worse a concubine, right?

That leaves only me as your choice. And let me add one more thing, if your King does agree, we will do the ceremony here in Dragnof, and we shall live here henceforth."

Hearing the worsening conditions the old man's face turned gloomier. 

This is absurd!

Please, you are on the weaker side here, not us!

Our terms should be the ones to be followed not yours!

This is no longer a negotiation!

'Well, I can't outright refuse him though. We'll just have to play accordingly for now.' The old man thought.

Rung, the doopy-eyed man slammed his hands on the table angrily and stood up, glaring at Ethan hatefully. "Enough! We did not come here to hear such ridiculous demands. 

It's either you agree or not! We won't hear any more of your nonsense!"

Ethan looked right into General Rung's eyes, "Nonsense? You guys are the ones who have been spouting nonsense since the beginning. Do you think Dragnof is afraid of your Kingdom?"

Ethan walked forward and put his hands on the table, "Let's make things clear; 

First; Your Kingdom already knows about the Dragon Invasion upon us.

Second; You've heard about our Queen developing a magic capable of resisting Dragons or possibly even defeating them.

Your goal by coming as soon as the information leaked was not to really make an alliance with Dragnof, our Kingdom, but to make use of us and the dragons coexisting with us peacefully to resist the invasion as much as possible with you people sending a bare minimum of your forces, not hurting your core forces for any potential outcome if Dragnof were to fall.

You came in the pretense of peace, but you people seek protection because there's also the possibility of your kingdom being the one to be attacked first.

And if possible, learn the Magic our Queen is researching for yourselves.

Did you people think we are idiots and fools not to see through your schemes?

If you were truly sincere, you should have been honest from the beginning!

Don't think Dragnof is afraid of your Kingdom, I, alone, am enough to annihilate your entire kingdom!"

Ethan said everything at once, his magical power surging, creating cracks around the room.

What Ethan disliked the most was the scheming people. 

If they were sincere, they should be honest, and not act like they have the upper hand when in reality they were the ones who are asking for protection.

Ethan's anger was also sound. 

Since he was already here, it was no longer just a world he knew, but a world where he now lived, and he wouldn't just watch the people who had taken care of him be taken advantage of and suffer.

Since he had the strength, why not use it to help and not just watch and let others die?

If Iceberg really wages war, Ethan is confident in his strength.

He could defeat dragons with just his human magic much less if he turned half-dragon half-human or even full-dragon, annihilating an entire kingdom is only a matter of time.

What can these measly shits do when they have no means of any possibilities of defeating him?

Irene is a wonderful woman and if Ethan could prevent her grim future, like nearly being killed by her supposed husband only to live by turning into a dragon and suffering for hundreds of years after being used, Ethan would do everything he could to such events from occurring. And if it's also possible, prevent as much death as could, dragons and humans alike.

But if the Iceberg Kingdom has any other ideas, he wouldn't mind killing them sooner since their deaths would come sooner or later and he would just be speeding up the process.

Ethan was no longer what he used to be, he had been to the borders and had seen how the soldiers of Iceberg harassed and humiliated the soldiers of Dragnof before killing them.

But that was not what changed Ethan's attitude toward Iceberg Kingdom, it was when a small town near the border, a harbor town between Iceberg and Dragnof, was massacred like livestock by Iceberg Kingdom soldiers which was the reason Ethan massacred in exchange for learning that it was ordered by their King, saying that the harbor town was supposed to be their and Dragnof only took it from them which is far from the truth.

What was supposed to be Ethan's training by the sea turned into a massacre by the sea.

Although Ethan said he could annihilate an entire kingdom, that was just a figure of speech. He's not a bloodthirsty person who would also just go and kill innocents just because he could.

Humans are greedy, cunning creatures, that Ethan understands. Killings were normal in this current chaotic age, but massacring a peaceful town while laughing wildly are two different things. 

The boldness of Ethan's words shocked everyone. They stared at him wide-eyed with their mouths agape.

The old man stood up and pointed at Ethan with a trembling finger, "Y, you! How dare you speak such nonsense!"

"If you think I'm talking nonsense, then so be it. If you people do not really plan to be honest, pack up and leave our Kingdom! I don't like seeing hypocrites!" Ethan spoke without reservation.

What alliance? You can shove your alliance up your arse!

- - -

"Is it really alright to do it like this?" Irene asked worriedly while watching the departing delegates from Iceberg.

"Don't worry about it. They've never had any good intentions by coming here and only wanted to make use of Dragnof. They wouldn't even blink if the people of Dragnof died or even hesitate to sacrifice them so they could survive. That's just human nature. It's either them or us." Ethan said, his tone firm and resolute.

"What if they truly invade us?" Aldy asked worriedly.

"They wouldn't. If they truly take Dragnof weak, I'll show them. I won't let them take advantage of innocent lives for their own gain, again." Ethan said and walked away.

Irene and the others stared at Ethan's departing figure, each with different thoughts.

Although it had only been six months since Ethan arrived at the Kingdom, they had already treated him as one of them because of the help he had been giving to the Kingdom.

Even though he wouldn't teach them about his Draconic Magic, what he taught about other subjects was far too valuable and had already proven its worth. 

Not to mention, Ethan, being the strongest human Dragnof has. Not only the citizens grew fond of him, but also the dragons. 

According to Belserion, the one who had taught Ethan was one of the oldest of their race. The strongest, and the most respectable. And Ethan being raised and taught by such a figure is something they had never thought of. 

With the Destruction Magic Ethan possesses, which no dragon other than Zagarot had been able to use, and many of his capabilities, there's no denying that Ethan was truly a human taught by him and no other.

Destruction Magic, true and unique to its name destroys everything, leaving nothing in its wake. Adding the Creation Magic which was also a signature Magic of Zagarot only proved Ethan's claim.

And when Ethan talked about Dimensional Magic and Time Magic, Belserion and some old dragons fully believed Ethan. 

Although Ethan is still somewhat new to Creation Magic, and with some knowledge about Dimensional Magic, with time, Ethan will prove to become strong, strong enough to stand above all others.

- - -

Two weeks passed...

After the delegates from Iceberg left, Ethan went to find Gardrass, and under Gardrass's instruction, Ethan was finally able to create something from magic.

Ethan's Creation Magic leaned and took the characteristics of Nature.

Ethan chose to do so because, not only did it let him get closer to Nature itself, but the Life characteristic of Nature Element was a great boon.

Not only did it let him able to create trees, but it also let him understand 'Life'. 

'Life' is a vague word for Ethan for now, but as he learns more and digs deeper, creating 'Life' with Creation Magic should be possible. 

Healing is all he's capable of for now. But sooner or later, he would be able to understand more and the possibility of 'Regenerate' wouldn't be a dream.

While Creation Magic in itself is a powerful ability, 'Creation' itself is also a vague word, and it also depends on the magician itself. How one applies 'Creation' with their magic and their chosen path is up to them, up to each their imagination since imagination is what gives form to magic itself.

Ethan chose Nature, for many reasons. But Ethan is not a simple human, he has a lot of ideas and he wouldn't limit his Creation Magic to Nature, but for now, that's what he wants to focus on.

"Still, I can't believe that Iceberg recalled all their troops from the borders and even gave back the lands they had taken and some more without conditions." Gardrass feeling happy said. Amazed at how Ethan made them retreat and opted for peace without any more nonsensical conditions.

"Nah, it's not me. Someone should have smartened up and seen the bigger picture, hence their move." Ethan denied any praise that he had been hearing ever since a week ago and continued playing with the sampling that sprouted as his palm, sometimes making it wither and then rejuvenate with a smile on his face.

Gardrass stared at the withering and then rejuvenated sampling at Ethan's palm in amazement. Awed at how Ethan quickly managed to suppress his always-active Destruction Magic and learn Creation Magic. "Really now. But will we really help them if dragons choose to attack them first? It's not that we don't want to."

Ethan clenched his fist, turning the sampling to dust and making it fly along the wind, "Peace can only be achieved if both sides truly wish for it and work for it. But some scheming will never cease, but this is a good start, nonetheless."

"That's true." Gardrass nodded. Living peacefully was all the Green Dragon wished for, spending his remaining time leisurely. "Will you really train them then?"

Hearing Gardrass query, Ethan nodded. Smiling, "I was the one who told them so, in exchange for being rude during the meeting and... lying to them, threatening them." He chuckled as he remembered the faces of the delegates who came back bearing gifts a week after their angry departure with a smile on their faces.

The droopy-eyed general wasn't among them though, but a few Princesses whom Ethan didn't even bother remembering their names.

"And it will also give them some form of protecting themselves. Though, how much they improve depends upon themselves." Ethan added.

Bard, a Brown Colored dragon, specializing in Earth Element, resting on the side opened his eyes and asked Ethan, "Are you really not going to tell Irene how you're able to use Zagarot's magic? And even turn into a dragon?"

Ethan looked at the clear blue sky, "I wish I could, but I can't. It was our promise. And it's also dangerous, the success rate is low. I was only able to succeed because Zagarot sacrificed a lot." 

"Heh, brat. Why not tell us about it?" Orcel, a Blue Dragon of the Water Element quipped as it flipped on the lake, splashing a red dragon which irritated it.

"Would you stop that!? Or I'll fry you! You wet-punk!" Derkan roared and fired a small fireball toward Orcel who dived under the lake, successfully evading the attack who then came back up and once again splashed Derkan while mocking the irritated Fire Dragon, earning him a brawl.

"Tell you about what?" Ethan amusedly watched the brawling dragons playfully.

"About what sacrifices Zagarot has to make for you to learn his magic and also turn into a dragon whenever." A Yellow Dragon that sent some lightning to the brawling dragons not far away asked.

"Oh? You're awake, Raien! That's great. Will you teach me how to turn my body into lightning now?" Ethan asked excitedly. Thinking of turning into lightning itself and its speed excited Ethan, much to the dragons' amusement.

"When the hell did I say I can do that, you punk?! Also, answer the damn question!" Raien roared.

Ethan scratched the back of his head and said with a laugh, "Eh? Ah? Haha. Right, I forgot you can't do that." 

"If I say, he used his Blood, Horns, Scales, and many more, would you guys believe me?" Ethan said, his face becoming sad and serious. 

Ethan knew that Zagarot had put those things within the Magic Circle they had both created without telling Ethan about it, but how could Ethan not tell when he was the one who started the idea and put it into reality?

However, even if Ethan knew, he did not question Zagarot about it, if Zagarot wanted him dead, the dragon wouldn't have even thought about entertaining him and just outright turned him into ashes back then.

At Ethan's words, the dragons grew silent and didn't probe further. 

It wasn't because Ethan told them about the sacrifices Zagarot made, it was about just how much pain the old one had to endure to create the abomination now standing in front of them.

Thinking about it, if they also needed to do the same as Zagarot did, they do not know if they'd even survive to see if it were successful or not. Not only will they suffer, but it will surely affect their battle capabilities, and might not even survive the process, with the invasion from the dragons nearing each day...they'd rather just die fighting than torture themselves like that.

Dragons are proud creatures, so thinking about it, dying felt much better.

"Anyways, Raien, let's go train. I have some magic I like to test." Ethan said, breaking the silence.

Raien nodded. Ethan leaped up and landed at Raein's back and the two of them flew away from the others, heading to their training site.

- - -

Ethan -