Dragonlord

Ep 104. An Even Worse Monster. (2)

Ep 104. An Even Worse Monster. (2)

A newborn soul is a pure, shallow existence – for it possesses no experience or memory to alter it.

But once born, the life one leads affects the soul in a myriad of ways: whether that be its depth, purity, color, shape, or something else altogether. A commonly known rule was that a good deed purifies the soul, while an evil deed taints it black.

However, this was a rule that was purposefully distorted to sway children in favorable ways. Good and evil were subjective matters to begin with; none could serve as an arbiter of right and wrong. In the passing millennia, a piece of the original rule had been lost in time:

The standard of good and evil is the soul itself; the morals of their possessor.

It did not matter what action one would take. As long as they perceived it as virtuous, then it was so; if they perceived it sinful, then it was so.

Hence, the purity of one’s soul was actually a meaningless trait. It was dictated not by an absolute standard, but simply by one’s beliefs.

However, this did not stop a certain few from judging another by the purity of their soul.

‘…Dark.’

In the assailant’s eyes, the dragonlord’s soul was a conundrum.

A darkness of immeasurable depth, blackened beyond recognition. He may as well have been staring into an abyss.

But even in that endless void, an undeniable light gleamed from its core. A pure, innocent light of a human soul, embracing the darkness that surrounded it.

And that very light – the light he believed to be the origin of the woman standing before him – was beginning to flicker, as if it would disappear at any moment.

“…Curious.”

After discarding his broken weapon, the cloaked figure summoned yet another spear into his hand, pointing it towards his enemy ahead.

‘Unless they’ve reincarnated hundreds of times, a human soul could not possibly attain such depth. Their soul should undoubtedly belong to a demon…but what of that light? Man and demon, unified within a single body?...’

Discarding the array of disorganized thoughts, the cloaked figure thrust his spear forward several times to pierce his opponent.

Unfortunately, the weapon was no longer of any threat to the dragon before him; the metal harmlessly clashed against her scales, and soon, shattered apart from the impact. He may as well have been thrusting at an iron wall.

After his spear was destroyed yet again, the cloaked figure retreated back a few steps.

At first glance, he’d thought the individual to be the deity of stars. The depth of their internal misgivings and grievances, and their overall presence, had been similar to a staggering degree.

However, the individual before him couldn’t possibly have been the deity he thought she was. She looked nothing alike, acted nothing alike; and, most importantly, Aymeia’s soul was nowhere near as whole and stable as the dragonlord’s.

‘It’s as if all of her faults were simply removed. If anything…’

“…Perhaps you’re an even worse monster.”

“…”

A quiet sigh escaped the dragonlord’s lips. Ever since their meeting, her assailant had muttered nothing but nonsense.

Kicking herself off the ground, Serenis raked her claws at her opponent. Despite the cloaked figure hurriedly backing off another few steps, the fabric hiding his figure were caught in the attack, tearing off to reveal the figure beneath.

And once she could see her assailant’s face, Serenis couldn’t hide her astonishment.

“…? How…”

“…”

Hiding underneath the black cloak was not a living body, but a wooden mass carved to resemble such. Although hidden beneath layers of fabric and bandage, the insides were not a person, but a well-sculpted wooden mannequin.

Though, that doll was moving like a person, and somehow even speaking like one.

“…I hadn’t quite intended to show this far…”

When the doll extended its hand, another weapon was summoned into its grip. The summoned scythe was then slashed across the front, skidding past the unscaled portion of Serenis’ face.

Soon, the two stepped back from each other to stand at a distance.

“Even you should’ve realized – that you’ve nothing to gain from this battle.”

“…”

Up until just now, Serenis had been fairly certain: that the individual standing before her was yet another divinity, wielding powers pertaining to the soul. After all, reading another’s soul through mere sight was one of the First’s divine authorities.

But the usage of weapons, puppets, and hand-to-hand combat – none of those were how the First had handled conflict. Given the sheer amount of divinity her parental figure had held, it was difficult to imagine him engaging in combat through a remote decoy controlling dozens of physical weapons.

And soon enough, the wooden doll cut off the dragonlord’s train of thought.

“You seem confused, demon.”

“…No thanks to your ridiculous visage.”

“Hmph.”

When the doll discarded his scythe, the weapon transformed into a mass of light, disappearing thereafter.

“A demon like you would never understand. The times we endured under your kind’s pitiful rule – the heights we climbed to surpass it.”

“…And still, your only notable accomplishment was to defile our brethren’s remains and wield them as your weapons.”

“Mock all you’d like – it does not change that your kind are now lesser than our own. Soon, the final demonlord will die in my hands – and with her, the rest of your kind. This war only ends once every single one of you are extinguished from our world.”

Serenis frowned at the sudden threat, but instead of retorting back, she remained silent. Strangely, despite their mention of a ‘lord,’ it didn’t seem like they were talking about her.

When no answer came back, the doll scoffed at the dragonlord.

“Resist if you wish. I will await your arrival at Telberk.”

The grey aura surrounding the wooden figure faded out. Soon, it powerlessly fell to the ground, laying there motionlessly.

Their last few words echoed in Serenis’ mind for several minutes thereafter.

‘…The final demonlord?’

Until Serenis’ reappearance, the dragonkin had lost their notion of having a lord; the dragons who recognized her as their lord were few and far between. It only made sense that her assailant wouldn’t recognize her as a dragonlord.

‘But if that were the case, then whoever is this supposed demonlord?’

Despite sounding like a declaration, her assailant may very well have been provoking Serenis to lure her into a trap. If one of the other lords had still been alive, Serenis should’ve been able to sense their presence upon the star, however faint.

The dragonlord hovered one hand over her chest. A deep frown crossed her expression and she grasped at her heart, as if to make sure it was still there.

‘Unless…’

✧   ✧   ✧

In a dark room lit only by a single candle, a man seated upon the chamber’s stone floors quietly opened his eyes.

The Akeian emperor remained prostrating behind the figure. He dared not lift his forehead off the ground.

“My lord.”

“…Lavnore.”

After a curt acknowledgement the emperor’s presence, he remained silent. The man instead rose to his feet, picking up the pitch-black cloak beside him to cover his figure.

As silence ensued, it was Lavnore who broke it while the man donned his robe.

“I hope your meditation was satisfying.”

“I was merely inviting an interesting guest.”

“…An interesting guest? Who...”

“Is that any of your concern?”

When met with his lord’s cold stare, the Akeian emperor smashed his forehead once more unto the stone floor, coating it in bits of blood.

“Forgive me. I’ve overstepped my boundaries.”

“…”

The man callously turned away. He then headed towards the chamber’s only exit, creaking it open to reveal the snowy mountains outside.

Still facing the scenery before him, the man spoke to the emperor behind him.

“If you’re here, I trust that preparations are complete.”

“They are. The empire is ready to depart immediately.”

“…We will wait another day at this keep.”

A single day. If his guest failed to arrive in that timeframe, then they were never worth being considered a threat.

‘It matters not who comes.’

The Reaper – the only entity he’d feared of standing against – was no more. There was none left to contest him on this star, not even among the dragons or the remaining Twelve.

Unless some ridiculous monstrosity had somehow returned to life.