Chapter 85: The capital of Piya

Leaving the collapsed city behind, I flapped my wings and rose higher into the sky beyond the clouds to where I sensed my father's presence at. Surprisingly, he seemed to be standing on the air itself as he watched me approach. Once in front of him, I lowered my head in respect and spoke. "It has been done, father. Nord has been destroyed," I said in a respectful tone.

Father nodded in reply with a satisfied expression on his face before he asked. "You seem troubled Aether, speak, what is on your mind?" I was momentarily surprised by his question, 'Is it really that obvious?' I wondered before I quickly lowered my head once again and answered. "I am merely disappointed in myself father, for I failed to control my emotions and began to enjoy the unwarranted carnage,"

Father nodded in understanding before he continued. "There is nothing wrong with that, though you must always keep a steady head on your shoulders. It does not matter If you enjoy the fighting or not, what matters is not letting yourself be influenced by It. Remember this Aether, there are only three important things for a dragon, balance, our family, and the King, anything else does not matter,"

I could feel my father's mana forming a huge hand as he used it to gently pat my head with a rare soft expression on his face. "So, even If the world Itself is against you, you can always rest assured that we will always stand behind you," He said causing my eyes to widen in shock at his sudden declaration.

Father didn't give me enough time to reply before he flapped his wings and flew forward. I remained hovering in the air for a few seconds as I watched his giant figure soar through the sky, my heart completely calm and steady, I felt safe as all of my previous worries were washed away.

My mouth curved upwards forming a wide smile on my face as I rushed to follow my father. 'That's right, I'm not alone, I have them,' I thought as my siblings' figure flashed before my eyes. 'Let's just get this trial over with, I already miss home,'

---

It has been two days since I destroyed Nord. During that time, I had also managed to eradicate another large-size city with almost no resistance at all. It appeared as If they were already aware of the news regarding my previous attack, and so most if not all of the citizens had already evacuated before I even arrived.

The ones that stayed behind were a small minority of city guards, while surprisingly no mages remained. This meant that city had no magic shield protecting it, and to not waste any time, a single dragon's breath was all It took for me to completely obliterate the large city. After that disappointing raid, all of the other cities I visited were already deserted, this meant that I only had to destroy empty buildings and city walls.

And so, now with most of the kingdom's cities already in ruins, It was time to set my gaze towards the capital, the final and perhaps the most difficult target of my rite of passage. I was currently flying alongside my father, my eyes were scanning the mountain range below with interest as the scenery changed the closer we got to the capital.

The mountains seemed to grow larger, still, they could no compare to our home, nor could they compare to the desolate mountain I was born in. Soon enough, my eyes slightly widened in surprise as an impressively massive city extended before my eyes.

Enormous was an understatement, the city was standing atop giant pillars that extended from the surrounding mountain peaks forming a plateau of sorts that supported It. Its sheer size was incomparable when It came to the destroyed Nord and Andila.

From afar, the city looked like a miniature sun with the enormous magic shield that surrounded it, causing me to frown. Even from this distance, the pressure that emitted from the city was truly impressive. 'So this is a human capital, now I understand what father and grandfather meant when they said to not underestimate the humans,' I inwardly noted.

I was already sure that the upcoming battle would not be an easy one compared to the previous ones. It seemed like the kingdom had called back all of its army and citizens to the capital where they were planning to have their final stand. 'Interesting, so this is the final battle,' I mumbled, feeling my heart throb in excitement.

Father then flapped his large wings and rose higher in the sky, his voice reverberated in my ears as his figure disappeared behind the clouds. "Good luck, Aether," He said causing me to gulp down nervously. I scanned the capital from a distance, not daring to get too close, I thought I was still safe when I suddenly felt a disturbance in the mana stream coming from the large city.

"Fuck, not again," I growled in annoyance before hastily dodging two abnormally large spears that broke through the air narrowly missing me. 'So they already know I'm here,' I frowned as more spears were shot my way.

I gracefully evaded their attacks and closed in on the capital. No city guards nor mages were outside of the magic shield, It seemed like they were planning to remain there while attempting to take me out using their ranged attacks.

I could feel several mana disturbances as I soared through the sky above the capital and let out a roar that sounded like the clap of thunder, causing a few people to collapse from fear. Most of the city and guards and mages remained steady, however, their eyes full of determination as they glared daggers at me.

"Hold steady men!" I could hear the commanders yelling as they tried to raise the morale of their troops. The ranged attacks continued, yet none of them landed, still they were able to keep me at bay, which was an impressive feat In itself though unfortunately for them, physical attacks were not my specialty.

'I guess this a good time to test out that thing,' I inwardly mumbled. Before I set off to complete my rite of passage, I had visited the King's temple and received his blessing. At that time, I didn't truly understand what It was and have been trying to figure out the secret behind that strange cosmo mana sculpture inside my soul space ever since.

'I think I somehow figured it out, well hopefully this goes well,'