Dragonlord

Ep 40. Do You Know My Name? (6)

Ep 40. Do You Know My Name? (6)

Under the right conditions, an animal could evolve into a half: a concentrated compatible mana had to but reach their heart.

Then, could a dragon’s mana work as an evolutionary catalyst?

Unlike other races that were born with varying affinities across all elements, dragons were born with only a single affinity: Raizel could never wield anything besides steel, and Ilias could never wield anything besides fire. Therefore, the dragonkin’s mana could never serve as a catalyst; even if high concentrations were to reach the animal’s heart, the compatibility condition would never be met.

However, there was one such dragon who possessed a mana, capable of replacing that of every element.

Serenis’ star affinity – an element that encompassed all other elements – could, in theory, become an exception. In fact, such an element could possibly function as a catalyst to any and all animals.

‘But this is no different than describing a parasite to be compatible with its host.’

An evolution induced through such mana could never be natural. The animal would pay dearly for evolving through a catalyst it was never meant to contain; the star-aspected mana would eat away at the owner’s body, forcing the host to deform beyond their limits in an attempt to remodel the body closer to the dragonlord herself.

Serenis was confirming this reality with her own two eyes as she made her way deeper into the sewer canals with Light and Ilias. Every time she laid her hands on the beasts to recollect her mana, she grimaced at the feeling; the star-aspected mana coursing through their bodies weren’t properly fused into the blood as mana normally should be. Instead, they were violently crashing through the animals’ internal systems, forcing them into a constant state of deterioration. Further, the curse that forced them into a permanently enraged state only made things worse.

‘…When will this end? Just how many are there?’

After every beast encounter, their party had grown in size as another deformed beast would return to their original animal form. The cubs would follow their parents, and their parents would follow Light who they seemed to know all too well. The cat half was practically leading an army of animals at this point.

Ilias glanced towards her lord, who was reverting yet another beast in her grip back into a tiny wolf pup before letting him sprawl over to his mother. Even after hearing that these beasts were actually halves that had gone through mana evolution, the whole process still made no sense to the red dragon.

“So…Lord Serenis, how exactly are you doing that? You can like, undo a half’s evolution?”

“These creatures are not proper halves. I couldn’t do the same to someone like Light. They carry my mana, which their bodies are failing to properly contain.”

“Your mana? Is it special?”

“...Somewhat.”

If these animals had evolved through regular means, the mana they used as catalyst would’ve been a perfect fit: it would’ve fused into their systems completely, becoming one whole as was the case with Light. Such evolution couldn’t possibly be reverted again.

But for these creatures, the dragonlord’s mana that had functioned as a catalyst was doing nothing of the sort. They were parasitically latching onto the animals, malforming their bodies into monstrous shapes. It was an embarrassment to call this an evolution.

‘How did these creatures come to carry this mana to begin with? I exercised caution not to use it...’

As the dragonlord lost herself in thought, Light came to a pause. Just up ahead was a small metal door, rusted and damaged beyond recognition; with so little light illuminating the metal’s surface, it would’ve been easy to miss without someone pointing out its location.

Light’s trembling worsened, and the animals accompanying her were no different. If not for the half girl leading them, they all would’ve scattered a long time ago. Light herself would never have come this far without two dragons accompanying her.

“…There. Everyone should be in there.”

Light’s voice was barely audible. It was almost a whisper, as if she was afraid that someone would hear.

Ilias then stepped forward to grip the rusted handle. The air around her began to emit small sparks of flame as the dragon tensed for what would be ahead.

“So our culprit’s behind this door, huh? Time to wrap things up and go home!”

“Um, Ilias…don’t…hurt the doctor…”

“…Huh?”

Ilias blinked in confusion as she turned to face her little sister. Light was a few steps behind, seemingly reluctant to approach the door. After leading them this far to help the beasts infesting the city sewers, it was odd to see the girl so anxious about catching the person responsible.

“But wasn’t he the bad guy? We don’t need his help if Lord Serenis can turn everyone back, right?”

“…He’s…still…”

Various animals let out worried whimpers as the half girl struggled to find her words.

Ilias scratched her head a few times as a conflicted sigh escaped her. Soon, the dragon’s expression softened into a reassuring grin, and the surrounding air lost its heat.

“Well…if you say so. But I’m still going to hand him over to the sector. He’s clearly breaking the rules.”

Noting the few nods from her sister, Ilias slowly pushed the metal door open to reveal a large, darkened space. The insides were barely visible with its lack of light; a musky chemical scent was the first thing the dragon noticed, followed by the sight of numerous caged and chained animals, either barely alive or not alive at all. A number of beasts were straddled to the wall, aggressively hissing and growling. What should’ve been a simple storage room had been remodeled into an experiment lab.

And finally at one of the corners, Ilias could see a scrawny green-haired man, standing before another person. A woman was tied to a wooden chair, her uniform jacket torn open to reveal the bare skin that was now muddled with small stab wounds.

“WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! W, W, WHY IS IT NOT WORKING?! EVOLVE! EVOLVE!!”

The man madly repeated a stabbing gesture into his victim’s chest, holding a metal syringe in hand. Even the creaking noise of the opening door had gone unnoticed in his frenzy.

The animals behind Light began to lose their docile expressions and friendly whimpers. They instead began to growl, and one of the wolves even began barking out loud.

Only then did the doctor finally took notice of the open lab door. His head abruptly shifted to face his numerous visitors.

“G, g, g…guests?”

Slowly, one of the so-called guests stepped forward.

Light stared into the scrawny figure with a conflicted gaze.

“…D, daughter? You…y, you’ve come back!”

Light’s small fists were madly shaking in fear. Even now, she wanted nothing more than to turn around and run away. She’d done it before, and she could do it again. She could run like before, and pretend none of this had ever happened.

But if she did, then there’d be another of her. And another. And countless others. And not a single one of them would be as fortunate as she had been.

“Doc…tor.”

“Ohh…I, I told you to call me f, f, father. S, still shy, I see.”

The man’s gaze then fell to the army of animals behind the half girl. Despite their starved, bony bodies, they otherwise seemed to be in normal conditions – which shouldn’t have been the case.

“A, a, all those a, animals…are they your, brothers and, s, sisters? H, how did you…”

Ilias furiously gritted her teeth at the man’s shameless demeanor. She knew Light’s parents, and whoever this doctor was, was not one of them. But just when the dragon was about to step forward and intervene, she could feel a short jerk on her sleeve, accompanied by a quiet remark.

“She stepped forth on her own. Let her speak.”

The red dragon’s pained expression met her lord’s gaze. She complied for the time being, repressing the urge to physically knock this doctor back to his senses.

Meanwhile, the rest of the animals were slowly rallying by Light’s side. The hesitant younglings and their reluctant parents mustered the courage to stand by the cat half’s side, standing against their supposed creator.

“…Enough already. I didn’t come back, I…came to tell you to stop. Your experiments, turning us into monsters…all of it.”

“S, s, s, stop? W, what do you mean, daughter? If I stop…then who will save c, children…like you? Who will a, a, allow you all to become…p, p, perfect?…”

Then, the doctor glanced to the side to spot a furious red dragon. An erratic grin twisted his lips as he clapped his hands together.

“Is that…a d, d, dragon…? Yes, y, yes! A true d, d, d, dragon! Haha…ehahaha! What i, invaluable specimen!”

The ‘specimen’ was practically seething in anger. The ground seemed to lightly rumble beneath her feet; if Serenis hadn’t urged the youngling to remain still earlier, this doctor figure might not have a jaw to speak with by now.

Light grimaced as the doctor noted Ilias as a specimen.

That’s what every living being was to him. And once they were forced into submission, they were children. There were no exceptions.

“C, c, cheer up, daughter! F, father forgives you. You’ve brought all your siblings b, back, and even a new s, s, specimen for m, me. Children! Take care of our new f, f, family!”

Low thudding noises echoed throughout the lab as three figures emerged from the shadows behind the doctor’s desk. Three man-beasts were now in sight, all of them groaning in pain with a human face buried in between their shoulders.

Neither the dragons nor Light could hide their shock at the sight. Animals whimpered in fear, hiding behind the half girl’s legs.

“Are…those...”

“Lord. That’s…”

“…”

Serenis twisted her expression in disgust. Standing before them were three unmistakably human entities, suffering from the excruciating pain of the mana they carried – all the while the doctor stood tall and proud amongst them with nary an ounce of guilt.

‘…Were animals not enough?’

Countless species hunted for survival, but sometimes, a hunt’s purpose would simply be to toy with their prey. In the same manner, Serenis could condone humans doing whatever they pleased with animals, at least to an extent.

But wielding the same violence against one’s kin was a completely different matter.

And using her mana to do so, however little, was a mortifying insult to the kin.

- ‘Serenis, do you truly remain blind to the treachery that is mankind? Theirs is a history of malice, of their unlimited thirst for power. We, the demonkin, have every right to eradicate our star of their disgusting presence.’

Time and time again, other demonlords would question the worthiness of man to walk the star.

Serenis had always opposed them while believing in her ideals of coexistence, of the potential mankind held. She’d thought the advancement of their present civilization to be proof of that; they’d been capable of so much more than what they’d shown during the era of demons.

Prosperity without sacrifice. Kindness that spread without limit. A timeless cycle of affection and generosity. Despite their malice and despite their greed, humans were just as capable of love and benevolence.

And yet, here she was, witnessing the opposite side of the belief she held.

‘What is it that led to this madness? After our demise, this entire star should’ve been yours to keep. What more could your kind possibly have wanted?’

The beasts began to charge their prisms of magic, aimed towards the seething red dragon. Anger twisted the youngling’s expression as Ilias prepared to suppress the beasts and incinerate the man controlling them.

Serenis let out a quiet sigh.

A thousand years. So much had changed, and yet, perhaps nothing had changed.

When the beasts fired their spells toward Ilias, a translucent dome formed over the youngling, stopping the dragon from launching herself forth. The same dome covered Light and the animals standing behind her, shielding everyone present.

Even when the spells crashed into the barrier with thunderous noise, not a speck of their prismatic light managed to seep through.

The doctor carefully studied the dragonlord’s spell as it faded away. The dome’s erratic glow was eerily similar in appearance to the spells his beasts had used.

“Ho…oh? W, w, what is that…magic?”

Serenis did not bother to answer the doctor. She instead held out her hand towards the three groaning figures that were now charging their second rays.

‘…Return.’

A faint ring of light spread outwards from the dragonlord, washing over the lab’s interior. It wasn’t just the three ahead; every single, white-scaled beast in the room began to emit the same, dim glow. Their phantom silhouettes began to lose shape as their figures shrunk, and their scales began to shrivel and retreat. Their alien features rapidly disappeared as clumps of glowing mana slithered through the air, gathering into the dragonlord’s palm.

“W, w, what’s happening?! N, no, no, no! C, c, come back!!!”

The doctor madly swung his arms in the air, trying to grasp at the lights leaving the bodies of his experiments – but no physical barrier would stop them from returning to their owner.

His beasts were once again reduced to being regular animals. The three figures that had wielded magic also returned to their normal human selves, collapsing unconscious unto the floor.

“H, h, h, how…? How, how, how, how? HOW??? Evolution was…reversed??”

Serenis paid no attention to the doctor’s panicked questions. When the light filling the room diminished, she slowly lowered her hand.

‘There will only ever be one half child to walk the star with my mana. Only...’

The dragonlord slowly began to approach the frantic doctor. When their eyes locked, he could see a familiar blue gleam in her eyes.

The glowering menace he’d seen in the eyes of his enraged experiments.