Dragonlord

Ep 84. You’re Leaving? (3)

Ep 84. You’re Leaving? (3)

It didn’t take long for Serenis to find Raizel in the unrepaired streets. The youngling’s mana was practically a glowing beacon in the empty district; although Raizel wasn’t particularly versed in magic, she was a dragon nonetheless, and the mana she carried couldn’t be compared to regular civilians.

“Raizel.”

“Huh?”

Upon hearing the now-familiar voice, Raizel immediately tossed away the heaps of iron beams in her hand to let them collapse unto the floor. She quickly turned around to direct her attention at Serenis, scanning over the dragonlord’s figure – especially the arm that had previously been missing.

“Oh, it’s you. Looks like you’re doing well. That goldie finally fixed your arm?”

“…’Goldie’…?...If you mean Aldrid, she has, yes. It was rather fortunate that she could.”

Serenis looked around their surroundings. Although the district wasn’t exactly filled with intricate buildings and lively civilians like before, it wasn’t filled with death and rubbles, either.

“I must admit, I was somewhat worried with asking you to clear the streets. But I see those worries were misguided now.”

“…It’s just some cleanup. Am I really that undependable?”

“Haha, of course not. I was simply amazed by the job you’ve done.”

Serenis approached the pouting steel dragon to give a few commending taps on her back. Interestingly enough, the youngling’s sulking expression seemed to melt away at the touch. Even her voice had softened up noticeably.

“…If you have something else I need to do, just say it. I can do it.”

“There’s nothing else I need to ask of you.”

“You don’t? Then what’s the visit for?”

“I came to tell you that I’ll be leaving the city soon.”

Raizel’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer. After a minute of processing, the steel dragon spoke up once more.

“…You’re leaving? To where?”

“To the northern continent. Aldrid’s informed me that I should be able to find other divinities there.”

“Blegh…you’re going across whole continents?”

“I am. You’re welcome to remain if you wish; Ilias has said that she’ll be staying in the city as well.”

Although it wasn’t to the same degree as Serenis, Raizel, too, had become a celebrated figure throughout Partivine: the steel dragon was regarded as a hero that partook in stopping the Reaper’s terror. And although she barely cared for attention, at least here, the youngling didn’t have to worry about having a place to sleep, or food to eat.

Not that she worried about either in the first place.

“What, you think I’m crazy? Ilias can mop around all she wants, I’m getting the hell out of here.”

“…I figured you’d say that.”

Raizel impatiently tapped her foot on the ground. She was already picturing Serenis flying up north – along with how fast she could chase her lord. 

“So, basically…you’re telling me to follow you up north, right?”

“Huh? No, that wasn’t-“

“Works for me, I wanted to get out of here anyways. Can we leave now?”

Serenis let out a brief sigh. She shook her head, holding Raizel’s shoulder to stop the marching youngling in place.

“…Now, hold on, child. You…can’t fly, can you? I could manage carrying Aldrid in this body, but that wouldn’t exactly be plausible in your case.”

“Oh pft, don’t worry. I can just run.”

“…”

A small memory suddenly flashed before Serenis’ eyes – of her first, memorable meeting with the steel dragon before her. Of the small panic she’d felt when Raizel had tackled her during flight by simply jumping off the ground.

‘Could Arkrana have done the same?...Probably not.”

Dragons possessing steel affinities tended to have severe limitations in moving or jumping due to their weight. They required a few times the strength that other dragons would normally need to move about; this aspect even tended to hinder learning how to fly amongst their hatchlings.

‘And Raizel’s lived without her wings. There must’ve been a need to compensate.’

It was probably the secret behind Raizel’s unnatural physical strength. Even across other lifeforms, it wasn’t rare to see certain traits evolving in a way to compensate for what the body was missing.

‘But if that’s indeed the case, then…I wonder…’

After a brief contemplation, Serenis fixed her gaze on the grey youngling. When she’d first learned of Raizel’s missing wings, a passing thought had briefly brushed her mind; now, the dragonlord had ample time to make it reality.

“Raizel. As capable as you are, it isn’t plausible to keep up with a flight’s pace through running. Especially when the distance is as sizeable as it is this time.”

“…Tch. So I shouldn’t come then?”

“What I mean to say is…”

Serenis then pointed skyward to add the next bit:

“I’ll teach you, child. It’s never too late to learn how to fly.”

“…? The hell are you saying? You know I don’t have wings.”

“You can make them.”

When the youngling stared at her with a ridiculed expression, Serenis cleared her throat to explain in detail.

“Unlike other dragons, a steel dragon’s wings are of simple make; In the case of your ancestors, their wings had always been nothing more than a collection of metallic fragments. Hence, there shouldn’t be a problem with recreating your wings through magic. You can manipulate metals, can you not?”

“…I guess?”

A dragon possessing a fire affinity didn’t exactly have wings of fire; a dragon possessing a water affinity didn’t exactly have wings of water. They could use fire and water magics respectively, but if their wings were entirely comprised of such elements, then…well, they wouldn’t have been very useful.

But dragons possessing a steel affinity were exceptions to this rule. Their wings were, quite literally, comprised of the very element they could manipulate. The shape of the wings might’ve been complex, but the comprising materials were just pure metal.

‘So there shouldn’t be a problem with just making them anew.’

Serenis had already seen Raizel using her steel affinity to create various structures. Creating something as intricate as wings would no doubt be a difficult task, but it was still possible nonetheless.

“Wings made of magic will only be temporary, but you should be able to make them anew every time you need them. I will teach you the form they take.”

“…Seriously? You can do that?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“…”

Raizel’s heart began to pace in silence.

The steel dragon had lived nearly her entire life without wings. Before she’d lost them, she’d been too young to learn; when she was old enough, she hadn’t any parents to teach her.

The parents that should’ve been around to teach their daughter were long dead. No other steel dragon remained in the kin besides Raizel. For an entire century she’d despaired in secret, ruminating on how she could only look unto the skies while others took flight.

But now, the dragonlord before her was boldly claiming that they could change all that. Serenis’ air of indifference made it all the more convincing, as if it’d be no trouble at all.

Raizel’s body lightly trembled. An involuntary laughter escaped her lips.

And Serenis, beholding the youngling’s sudden change, couldn’t help but widen her eyes in panic.

 “Raizel? Are you alri…are you crying?!”

“…”

“What’s wrong, child?! You don’t have to learn! It wasn’t my intent to force you, not in the slightest. If flying seems daunting, then-“

“I’ll learn.”

“…What?”

Raizel wiped her tears in silence. She couldn’t tell what was making her cry.

“Teach me how to fly. I’ll learn.”

From the very beginning, her lord had felt strangely familiar to Raizel; she’d sniffed Serenis from head to toe back then, trying to figure out why that was. And after all this time, the youngling finally began to realize the root of this familiarity.

It was that weird, pleasant scent plucking at her senses whenever Serenis would come near. She just hadn’t been able to remember it until now.

It’d been such a long time. She couldn’t even remember their faces anymore, but…

‘…They had a similar scent, didn’t they?’