A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

“Rahhrrrrrrrrrhaaaa!” The warhorn was called, although it weren’t the trumpets, but the rallying roars of three especially enraged aquatic dragons. Their voices thundered through Iceskale, quaking both air and earth to the point my [Air Shield] almost broke from the sonic shockwave.

Less fortunate were the dragoon guards standing watch outside the city hall, as the voices of the dragonkin of clan Ukanasch, Gurkunor, and Liandsee blew them away, leaving them unconscious with bleeding ears. Uncle Kary showed no restraint to his power as his blue-scaled face was starting to redden from his bloodshot eyes.

The dragonkin of Clan Gurkunor and Liandsee took flight and transformed into their dragon forms in the air, while Ukanasch members showed the speed feats of a drake, as their stride through the streets seemed almost effortless and unburdened by gravity. Regardless, the slipstreamed all of them left was enough to cause panic, as everybody on the floating city knew a fight was about to erupt.

Then again, considering the leviathan before, everybody should have been aware of this possibility. A roar of challenge which led to one accepting the declaration.

Come on, why the heck is this even happening? You can’t even enter the damn barrier, so why are you doing this! I screamed internally as another roar from the sea reached the city. Like a typhoon, the wind blowing towards us was only the start.

“Rally the dragoon commander and the wyvern corp!” As I was panicking by myself, Uncle Alex and Uncle Guyul were already taking on command, giving orders to their retainers and the other dragon clans to prepare for a fight. They would support our side for this territorial battle.

“Uncle—” I tried to speak up, but Sieg and Lissandrath, Uncle Guyul’s daughter, stepped in to stop me.

“This is a battle between multiple ancients, Princess,” Lissandrath said, concern clear to hear. “This is not something whelps should participate in.”

“Even us adults will barely be able to participate, unless they send their own children to us. I would rather you take care of yourself and to make sure your brother stays hidden from the leviathan’s eyes!” Sieg stated. “The last thing we want is for them to believe that we are supporting your brother’s claim, when he’s only here for his sibling duties. Your sister will only be put in a worse situation that words will not be able to solve.”

I stammered and looked at Sieg, causing him to groan. He hissed, “Father told me to simply be alert.”

“In other words, he did not trust me. That speech he gave sure is convincing now …” She stared daggers at Uncle Alex as he was too preoccupied to take notice, or he could and was ignoring her. She sighed. “The only way for Frozen Nest to stay away from the succession war is Thalaxarus’s barrier. Once it is taken down, you will ‘return to being part of Miononbolax.’ At that point, we will have to defend Princess Hestia from outside influences. As the only ‘third party’ left in this crisis, people will want her influence over two nests.”

“Outside?” Sieg stepped forward, snarling. “Inside, as well.”

“… Child, your father is already being ‘generous.’ You do not need to give me the same attitude,” she replied with a stink eye, prompting her son to get in between them. The two dragon sons stared each other down, forcing Lissandrath to drag Sieg away to stop this matter.

At the same time, my eyes snapped to the sky when I saw a horde of wyverns and dragoons taking to the sky, towards the direction of the sea. Quick and efficient reaction … It was a bit scary, honestly.

I felt goosebumps all over my body as my thoughts entered “battle” mode. Memories of my major battles flashed before my eyes as I knew a bloody fight would soon start at the border of the island continent’s barrier. The azure ocean I saw during my diving trip would be stained red if nobody stopped this.

“Lady Hestia!” Tasianna, my wyvern retainers, and Vifi rushed out of the building, calling for me, but for now, I shook my hand and walked back into the city hall.

A blockade at sea; the same thing happened in Coral Beard. What the hell are these leviathans planning with all of these acts? They’re only making Wendriosa look bad in all of this! You can’t crown a dragon empress when most of the empire’s citizens suspect she turned traitor.

I ended back in the hearing room, looking up at the only person still inside—Brother.

“Any ideas?” I asked.

His head was resting on his hand as he played with his whiskers, twirling it around as if it was hair. “We can’t do anything.”

“I’m asking for a plan, not a statement that everybody knows. Seriously, I already got the lecture outside.”

“Your mother told me you faced an ancient rank SS leviathan in a human country. Yeos, was it?” he replied.

“What does that have to do with anything now? Are you suggesting those leviathans managed to hear that part and are here for revenge?”

There were merfolk around during that time.

He shook his head. “No, your mother also told me a Champion of Plesia’s pantheon was there to stop the leviathan’s release, a blessed of Zennithra—a leviathan god. That alone will stop any plans for vengeance. What I’m getting at is that you should have seen how terrible a battle between a dragon and a leviathan is. Three of your dragon clans have leviathan blood in them, allowing them to swim almost as well as a true leviathan, but almost is not will. The rest are forced to stay airborne, while drakes cannot contribute at all, except for long-range artillery strikes.”

He began to move his fingers around in a circle, before he blew some fire on it, creating a flame tornado in his hand. “A storm is brewing. The succession crisis is like this tornado I created. With every breath we take, the flame is getting hotter. Yet, we need to breathe, don’t we? Emperor Kahalameet or Empress Wendriosa; those are the two futures the people of Kargryx are looking forward to, and these thoughts will give birth to winds strong enough to feed a flame that will torment our home.”

He breathed on the tornado again until it burst into a magnificent multi-colored flame, showing the standard red, orange, and yellow hues before it all darkened into black. Kargryxmor’s hereditary black flames … the “proof” of us being siblings. I knew Ryra had them in his Profile, and I bet everybody must have a variant of it. I was the only one left out due to my mutation evolutions.

“Family must be prioritized!” he declared. “Then our lands. If Wendriosa believes she can hide behind these ancients as they terrorize our home and our sister, then it is my duty to stop her before they encroach on her frenzy—her wants—even more. We Kargryxmors are possessors of a power that can double our power as long as we are willing to give our lives to fulfill our wants. All so we can slothfully lay around, sleeping the days as no worries torment us.”

… Those eyes. I gulped as I looked at the two thin lines that were his elliptically-shaped pupils. His tail was smacking the ground and his claws were trembling as he tried to control the twitching he must be feeling.

[Battle Frenzy] was appearing. My brother, conqueror of the [Battle Frenzy] training, was being ruled by his rage, right now.

“K-Kahalameet—” I approached him but he stood up.

“Hestia, I will need to borrow Regolustrus. I need to return home and speak with our sister,” he demanded. I couldn’t hear his willingness to discuss this with me. “Wendriosa and I need to talk. Earnestly, this time. Even if we cannot come to a compromise, we need to do something about this chaos here.”

“Huh? Didn’t you just say that we cannot do anything?”

“My point still stands,” he retorted, leaving me flabbergasted at this entire monologue he has been having. “We need to do something about this chaos, yet we will not be the ones to breathe fire. To combat an ancient, you need another ancient. That is the only fair battle until one of us siblings becomes a rank S.”

“… So that is your tip? Have somebody else resolved the situation? But … having these giant elder scales fight each other is what will make everything worse!” I argued. “Everything! I saw the civil war through Mom’s memories! The destruction, the deaths in the skies, and the ruined earth as the wrath of all those ancients paved the way for their crown candidate! Every single side chose an imperial child, forcing them with ambition, duty, or temptation to kill the other, leading to this current empire of stagnation!”

“Stagnation? No. Safety, stability, and serenity. Slothfulness is no sin in my eyes, Hestia, and Father’s rule is wise as he prevents the thing that will actually destroy this world—a world maintained by true dragonkin under the guise of order and servitude to the Dragon God. We would be nothing more than gods under gods!” he barked, pointing at the ceiling. “I told you, ‘Dragons do not like giving up their territory or rule.’ I did not lie, Hestia; everything you heard from me is what I truly feel and believe, and I will walk on this path towards my conviction. I will maintain the status quo so our race can flourish. If this is your decision, then—”

“You imbecile!” I shouted. “That’s what I’m talking about!”

I charged forward, jumping and climbing up to our seats to confront Kahalameet. Standing on the table just so our eyesight could match, I frowned, scowling a bit as it felt like I was talking to Kramps here. To a giant, brick wall of a dragon.

“You are repeating history. Everybody is repeating the history the empire wishes to never repeat, again!” I said. “Father fought during the civil war to bring peace to the nation as his siblings wished to carve a piece of the power Kramps left behind after his ascension. As you said, they were all influenced. Even Father.”

“He did not wish to kill his siblings. He did it because it was his duty as the heir apparent and new emperor to save our empire from fracturing after our grandfather left everything behind as if it was dust under his heels.”

“And Father isn’t doing the same now?” I clicked my tongue. “He’s in denial. I said it to him and I will say it to you, too. The fact he’s giving up on life simply because ‘I’ got put in this body is not a reason to die! He’s running away from Kramps, that is all! Unlike Kramps who took on another role to serve Peolynca, leaving the world to the next generation to dictate, our Father is dying because he can’t open his heart and mind to me. If you call that love, then I call that sick. Why?”

I paused, giving Kahalameet a chance to speak, but when he didn’t, I continued, “Why is he not the one you are calling for help? Why is it Maustoovaka and Arkanator? Why did Wendriosa have to choose these leviathans? Even if they are related to Empress-Mother Gyadiosa, look at what they are doing to our home? Is all this worth it for a damn piece of rusted metal and weathered scales? Are all these ideals so justified that you are willing to grab your siblings with your claws? Is this how a family is supposed to be? Just a never-ending repeat of conflict for some … crown? Title?”

No. ‘Cause I have felt the unconditional love of a warm house and the caring touch of a father and mother.

“If you want to break the cycle, to prevent our family from constantly being pestered by everybody, then you need to start with yourself!” I pushed him away from the table, allowing me to jump down. Looking up at him, I smacked my tail on the ground. “I know you have over 500 years of living under your belt, and I bet you and Wendriosa have talked about this often enough that it could make your ears fall off. I won’t tell you that talking with her will change anything. You said it yourself, it won’t, and I believe your wisdom here. That just tells me that I don’t know enough about you two to make a proper decision, but that still won’t stop me from telling you that you’re being an idiot about it.”

I pointed at him. “Whether elder scale or young scale, we’re just mortals. We make mistakes, and your mistake here is that instead of the family, you ended up choosing the ideal that will repeat the same mistake Father had to face! There is a little bit of a difference, though, and that is that Wendriosa isn’t blinded by the taste of power, she grieves over her lack of power! Compromising is what you should be doing if you want to stabilize your cause, instead of relying on that sicko Maustoovaka, overlooking the fact Neill and Ryra were tormented in their childhood by our culture of power!”

My heart was racing, my breath was ragged from my emotions, and my throat felt a scratching from my uncontrolled screaming.

“You want the status quo, but what are you doing now that you know that status quo has been harmful to others. To your siblings? That status quo is making you now fight your younger sister, because she can’t rise above that status quo to fulfill what she believes is right. All you did was press down on it, letting it well up until—” I pointed at the ceiling as draconic roars shook the building once again. “—this happened. Kahalameet, our eldest uncle was enthralled by the Dragon Ruler of Light and the limited time he was this nation’s ruler. You are being enthralled by the wishful ideals our Father has implanted into you, without doing anything to change it for a better future.”

I stepped back. “No. I do not believe you two would continue fighting if Father’s health were to recover. Why? Because when that happens, he will live even longer so you can have some time for yourself as ‘only’ Kahalameet. Not restrained by the title of ‘prince’ nor a time limit to assure your rule’s prosperity. You, too, have been a slave to our culture of power. Like Wendriosa, you are also desperate for power.”

I jumped down from the seats and kept moving towards the entrance while pointing at Kahalameet. “However, you’re right about one thing! I can’t fight any rank S and I’m too scared to do so now! I rather run, because that is how I grew up all alone in that forest! If I can’t do it, then I will rely on others to do so, but I will not stay on the sidelines! I will take to the battlefield even when there are those stronger than me, because this is my fight, too!”

I rushed out of the room, running through the halls before I activated [Telepathy] as I noticed a group of signals on my [Detection Sensor]. Connecting to them, I called them out, [“Hello? Hello? Vifi?”]

[“… Jeez, surprised me there. What’s up, Donut?”]

[“Lady Hestia? What—”]

[“Sorry, Tasianna, can’t talk with you, right now. Vifi, I need to get out of the city without the dragons noticing. Fast and quick! Reach the sea and I can fly the rest of the way myself.”]

There was a silence when I requested her, leaving me pondering her decision as my footsteps and the panicked voices of the dragonewts around me filled this already busy building. When I finally heard her say, [“Yeah, sure. Up for a run”] my feet accelerated and I dashed out of the building where Vifi grabbed me.

Holding me tightly, she pulled me away as my wyvern retainers and Tasianna positioned themselves in a way to prevent Sieg or Lissandrath from seeing me “flee.” Once everything was set, Vifi held me in a princess carry as red lightning cackled around her legs. With an explosion of speed, her lightning launched her forward like a railgun.

Zigzagging around the street, Vifi’s speed was as outrageous as always as my vision blurred with how often we had to stop in a place to continue the lightning rush. Even [Flash Fire] wasn’t this bad for my eyes and brain. You couldn’t rely on sight with such an ability, you needed instinct and a skill like [Detection Sensor] to make these movements as accurate as Vifi wanted to.

Once we reached the pier, Vifi stopped and used the momentum to throw me like a spear, launching me as far as she could until I was forced to activate my rocket boosters with [Wind Blast]. Flying passed the dumbfounded dragoons and wyverns over the water, I eventually reached the limit of where I was allowed to go.

It wasn’t even a choice, as a single wing flap forward and I would enter the border of a Territory clash.

“Gkraaaaaahk!” Vicious snarling, bloodthirsty howling, and metal-crushing snapping all melted together into a symphony of carnage.

Five colossal dragonkin on our side and four monstrous leviathans on theirs. Each were making this sea their own with ice, seaweed, or the control of water. Dark clouds blackened only this area just outside the blizzard barrier, making it look like a scene straight from a horror movie, awakening my mild thalassophobia I had gained from the diving trip.

I felt … like a swaying plank with this storm happening right in front of me. My wings felt the icy chill as Uncle Kary released a breath of ice into the water, freezing it and drilling through it before lizard head attached to a snake’s body rose from the waters, shattering the glacier and tanking the ice breath before its massive finned tail smack Uncle Kary right in the face, causing a sonic boom similar to a whip.

I felt the impact of the blast, yet my [Detection Sensor] hadn’t put their signals on my radar yet despite the fact I could see them from up here. From this distance, none of my spells would be able to reach them unless they were my large-scale ones like [Omnictus] or [Heaven’s Sword]. Heh, I bet my Territory wouldn’t even be able to touch a single one of them, and this wasn’t even mentioning how deep they were fighting right now.

The battle between Maustoovaka and Arkanator, or Mom versus Kahalantheel, the rank SS leviathan sealed in Yeos, were scorched in my memories as evidence for what I could eventually grow into. This battle was evidence that wherever I would fight, I would bring about a natural disaster as calamitous as an erupting volcano.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

This was the power of rank S true dragonkin. It made my own feats and experience seem like child’s play in comparison.

But that is what a child needs to grow up. Nothing I did should feel meaningless. Do not cower before them.

‘Even if they do not need our strength, we will bring music to this ravaged war-torn—’

“Kraaaauuugh!”

Oh shit! My body froze when I saw a new leviathan fully reveal themselves as they jumped out of the water. Unlike the first with its sea serpent body similar to what you would expect from a leviathan, this one seemed almost too humanoid. Like a merman.

Its torso was humanoid with four arms while wing-like fins grew from its back, flapping as it rose into the air with a dragon locked in its four-fingered hands. Its scales glowed a sinister red like bioluminescence, fitting its insect-like head as it crushed an ice block into powder.

When the dragon finally freed itself from the leviathan’s grip, octopus-like tentacles rose from the ground, revealing the fact its lower body was split into eight appendages. As it landed in the back in the water, it tried to swim away like an actual octopus, only for its ice dragon opponent to dive in with its jet-like wings.

Shit! My damn heart!

… I really shouldn’t be so terrified by this, but seeing such a “weird” dragonkin made me feel like I was looking at an eldritch from my nightmares. I mean, there was even a crab and fish leviathan here. All of them differed in form and appearances, showing more variety in their shapes compared to us land- and air-locked dragonkin, and this wasn’t even including that crocodile-headed leviathan in the Belzac forest or the tentacle-bearded Kahalantheel.

Steel my heart; that is what I had to do. Whether a troubled heart or one filled to the brim with warmth, as long as it never stops beating to the rhythm, everything in this world is inspiration. The birthplace of my creativity. The origins of my music!

Unheiliger Engel, I cast as I released lava through my mouth, forming a large, floating obsidian platform underneath me. As my [Corrosive Fire] spell hardened into purple slime, I molded them into hands instead of wings, creating a pair just so Hikari could use.

I pulled out my violin from my storage, while she took out her piano. We both took out the instrument’s respective catalyst and placed them in their spots, causing their strings to shine green as we injected mana into them.

Magical instruments that acted like enchanted weapons were similar to the staves mages would put their catalyst on, or like the spell rings nobles would wear to transport their magic-slinging alchemical tools around with ease. They simply transported the mana of the user to the catalyst. Rarely would they be enchanted, unlike, say, a weapon and a catalyst.

The reason why neither my violin and piano were fully enchanted was that they were constructed to endure high heat, freezing colds, blunt trauma, and so many other weapons and magic that would happen on a battlefield. They were made to survive the hardship of battle and to keep the catalyst inside them safe. Enchanting, while powerful, was still the process of injecting mana into an item and molding it like a spell to create a certain effect.

A magical instrument needed to play well even in the direst situation; it was only a vessel to bring about the musician’s songs. A bard would lose most of their use the moment their music turned silent.

Verdant Moth-Tune Catalyst: An alchemical tool created from the vocal cords of a rank B true dragonkin and the lung of a [Weatherbreaker Trumpet-Moth]. If mana is registered to this catalyst, it will levitate and float around the owner using stored mana. Using the moth’s silky strings as an ingredient, the catalyst spins a web of mana threads from it the moment it is activated inside an instrument. Amplifies the effects of bardic songs or spell songs by 30% as long as the instrument is used for such a task.

Owner: [Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

Skill: [Resource Efficiency Lv. 10] [Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 10] [Storm Amp] [Artillery Spell Enhancement Lv. 8] [Musical Effect Enhancement Lv. 10] [Musical Resource Efficiency Lv. 8] [Bardic Song Restriction]

Enchantment: [Strings of Tempest] [Musical Barrier] [Catalyst Tuning]

Strings of Tempest: Creates storm-elemental effects from the way strings are played. Harmonic tunes create protective barriers while discordant ones will unleash wind slashes

Musical Barrier: While playing a bardic or spell song, creates a barrier around the user and instrument, protecting them with the mana within the catalyst with the power of [Storm Magic Lv. 8]. Increases the range of the barrier with the intensity of the song, increasing the stats of allies within it by 5%

Catalyst Tuning: This catalyst is allowed to create mana links with other catalysts as long as they all possess the same “Owner.” Allows the musical song to utilize the effects and mana of the paired-up catalyst as long as they are related to bardic or spell songs played

Both catalysts had the same skills and enchantment, meaning they were probably made in unison. If this [Weatherbreaker Trumpet-Moth] had two lungs, then I guess each catalyst got one of each, and considering feral dragons would seldomly spawn in the lands, vocal cords probably weren’t a hard thing to obtain.

These catalysts could only be used for my spell songs due to [Bardic Song Restriction], in exchange, every spell song effect would be boosted by 30%. For example, [The Heir of Hope]’s 50% reduction in dark and demonic attacks would be increased to 65% and its 10% increase in all stats would become 13%. In other words, when the demonkin Prince of Pride used his lute, all his songs probably were enhanced by 30%, more or less.

The enchantments on the catalyst were also enhanced by this effect, although not [Catalyst Tuning], per se. Its effect was that I could connect my [Heart of the Volcano Catalyst] or [Providence’s Will] with my music, but the enchantment wasn’t creating a music-related effect by itself, so it didn’t count.

Yet, that wasn’t the important part, right now. It was the inspiration I gained after receiving these presents from Brother Kahalameet, and the fact my brain couldn’t stop until I managed to bring this tune onto paper. It was a songless song using [Heavenly Performance Act 2] new clause, “Instrumental.” In other words, a new challenge.

So, let this world revel in its debut performance!

And not just a normal one, as this will be the first Hestia and Hikari duet. A partnership just like our human parents had back on Earth; without it, we wouldn’t have been born in the first place. So let this violin and piano speak our feelings!

Starstruck Winterscape.

‘Ready,’ Hikari announced as she controlled the [Unheiliger Engel], using the obsidian fingers to press on the piano’s keys. Played in C major with its springy notes and at a relatively moderato tempo, the song was as its title suggested—a girl’s starstruck eyes as she witnesses the reality and beauty of a snow-covered world.

The slow intro gave an almost melancholic tone to it due to the piano’s deeper, natural notes. When I finally joined in the song with my violin, the strings shivered as I guided my bow along them, creating the higher, shriller notes needed to give this slow, sad song what it needed to sound hopeful. The days in a winterland were cold and dark, yet the aurora borealis flying in the sky was something you couldn’t see anywhere else.

Starstruck Winterscape: An instrumental song created by the Idol [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] using a violin and piano. Through unity of two personas inside the same soul, this song is affected by [Split Soul Autonomy], requiring at least a duet for its effect to be applied. Through the image of the wonders and horrors of winter, this song affects the souls of those who hear it, warming and freezing them at the same time similar to the duality of a winterscape. All entities affected by [Music Resonation] will receive this effect: All songs played in unison with this song will have their effects boosted by 30%. Once [Battle Frenzy] is active on the user, all spell song effects are replaced with these—All entities affected by [Music Resonation] must be of the true dragonkin race. All allies affected by [Music Resonation] receive these effects: Spell song effects will also affect the soul depending on the effect. All allies receive a 10% boost in all stats and draconic abilities. All physical damage to enemy dragonkin will increase by 25%. All enemies affected by [Music Resonation] receive this effect: Reduces damage to all allies affected by [Music Resonation] by 25%. The musician will receive these effects: Damage done to all true dragonkin reduced by 100%. Healing to all dragonkin increases by 50%. Skill, Spell, Ability effects to all true dragonkin’s souls increase by 50%

Kargryxmor’s and Ilsaphone’s blessings were now on the menu. Kargryxmor, the God of Dragons and the Black Tyrant of the Skies—it was only natural that a song related to him had to include [Battle Frenzy] and the fact he was a renowned dragonslayer, for a fellow dragonkin was more likely to kill another of their kind. Meanwhile, Ilsaphone, Goddess of Death and the Arbiter of Reincarnation, and the one who gave me [Soul Vision] through my usurpation effect, would definitely have an effect that involved souls, after all.

I was banking on this to work, not the Prince of Envy’s Original Sin powers since it was impossible for me to replicate. Healing somebody’s soul through music was at the end of the day only a mantra for me, and the meaning behind it was the foundation for how I wanted to write my songs. To actually put it into effect so I wasn’t barking, “I will heal Eltharion’s soul,” to everybody, I had to rely on the powers of the divine for this.

[Idol] was my trump card. The center of my skill set.

[Humanize (Major)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

And as long as I had mana and was in my humanized form to access my Job skills, this idea would work!

Come out, [Crystal of the Divine System]! I grabbed the System crystal from my storage when I had some time to rest, activating it so I could adjust my development Jobs.

Development Job [Star Idol] attached. Max level -> 65

Let’s go! [Musical Renaissance Diva] and [Musical Crescendo]!

It didn’t matter if the dragonkin were inside the water or this torrential rainfall of a Territory clash, my mana would reach them!

“Kriffiek kllk gaaung!”

[Battle Frenzy (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

“Let’s make them remember this, Hikari!”

‘Don’t fuck with the ice dragon flight and drake wake!’

As the song reached the bridge, the tempo increased, just in time as a voice entered my head.

[“Hestia! What are you doing? Where is Alextraxus and the rest!”] It was Uncle Kary, and he didn’t sound so happy. Considering the dragoons and wyverns were probably reporting to the other ancients right about now, the others probably needed some more time to get here.

Therefore, I could only tell the truth.

[“All you need to beat these assholes is me, Uncle Kary!”] I shouted. [“You can feel it, no? The power of my song? The power welling in you?”]

[“Winning isn’t the way to go here, Hestia!”] he shouted back, causing me to stop playing for a moment. [“These leviathans aren’t trying to kill us, they are delaying us so they can distort the mana in this part of the open ocean! Overabundance of mana creates dungeons and harms the local ecosystem, especially with fish species that require a controlled environment to farm!”]

The coralplunks!

[“The barrier will not block the influx of mana through the water, and while strong, it can weaken when these leviathans continue attacking it with their breath attacks and spells,”] he explained. [“They brought their sea serpent servants with them. While we are preoccupied here, defending against a full frontal blow, their sappers are injecting mana in other parts. That’s why we need our wyverns and dragoons for them!”]

[“Multiple smaller enemies? Got it!”] I stated. [“I’m here to help, and my music isn’t only for support! Trust me; I’ll make sure to help until the others reach us!”]

[“Then get on with it, Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor! Lead us to our island’s defence!”] Uncle Kary roared what he said to me in Draconic before returning to battle, prompting me to take advantage of that loophole in [Musical Renaissance Diva].

The Job skill allowed me to play two songs at the same time and it also applied to Hikari since we shared most of our Profiles. We could play four songs at the same time, although a song that required a duet to be played would use up two of these “songs.” In addition, the duet had to be played by two different people—it was a duet, and we couldn’t circumvent this with Hikari playing it alone, sadly.

Unheiliger Engel.

I produced another set of obsidian hands to grab my violin, letting it play for me. I cleared up my voice and pulled out both my glaive and [Providence’s Will]. Opening the holy catalyst’s bronze casing, I let it enter the glaive’s catalyst compartment, holding it up like a microphone.

“Providence’s Will, will you not grant me your power to save my people?” I asked in a whisper, closing my eyes as if I was praying, yet there was still no answer. The A.I slime in it still rejected me. “Then … Oh, Goddess Andira, I beseech thee, grant me the strength to expel the invaders from my home! Allow me a portion of your power as I serenade in your honor!”

The catalyst lit up as I prayed to the catalyst’s original owner, compelling it to finally act in my favor. I poured mana into my violin, activating the [Catalyst Tuning] enchantment to connect it to [Providence’s Will]. I tested my voice, causing the slime to vibrate as if it was activating a spell.

[Catalyst Tuning] only worked with singing and since [Providence’s Will]’s was mostly an offensive catalyst, I needed to find the time to make an offensive light spell similar to [Dragon Fire]. For now, though, all I needed was the [Healing Amp] on it as I began singing [The Heir of Hope], boosting my allied dragonkin’s stats.

“In the midst of the desert ♫

A bright ray of light shines ♫

Pure and brave, that she was, as she walked ♫”

Adjusting [Starstruck Winterscape]’s tempo to harmonize with [The Heir of Hope]’s slower playing speed allowed [Idol] to activate and apply the “instrumental only 30%” boost to my vocal songs. That meant, currently, my dragon allies were gaining 13% in all stats and draconic abilities from the first song and another 13% from [The Heir of Hope]. Furthermore, they would receive 65% increased holy elemental healing from me, and then [Providence’s Will]’s [Healing Amp].

Casting [Sun, Consume All], I created a miniature white flame sun right above me, but outside the Territory clash as I began healing the ancient dragons while boosting their strength. They already outnumbered out enemies and with the extra stat boost, they were pushing the leviathans back with raw power.

Yet, this wasn’t the goal as Uncle Kary said, so I had him telepathically tell me the locations of the sea serpents so I could activate [Soul Vision]. Registering these sea serpents as foes, [Starstruck Winterscape] were now affecting their souls, causing their silhouettes to light up like lightbulbs under the surface of the ocean, allowing me to pinpoint them even without [Detection Sensor].

Hikari, your turn!

I threw my [Heart of the Volcano Catalyst] from my storage into the air, where Hikari’s obsidian hands caught it and placed it on the piano, before she manipulated the air with [Aerokinesis] to produce her voice. Connecting the fire catalyst to the one inside the piano allowed her now to boost fire-based spell songs.

Furthermore, since I decided to keep the [Spell Song Amplification] enchantment on it to combo with my wind catalysts, fire-based spell songs were at their strongest when I used this combo for them. With the right conditions met, the damage boost numbers could reach an all-time high.

Sadly, the tempo, theme, and general instrumental needed for this fire song caused a terrible discord, meaning the spell song couldn’t be boosted by the “instrumental only buff.” Regardless, [Dragon Fire] was still useful even without it.

“In my purgatory, I make the devil cry ♫

In hellfire ♫

All you hear are his screams, begging to be released ♫

It’s music ♫”

With their souls located, giant dragon-shaped fire meteors appeared in the sky and descended into the water. The barrage of flames caused multiple areas right outside the blizzard barrier to erupt into steam, and with [Dragon Fire] reducing the effectiveness of water and ice attacks by 50%, the damage done throughout this battle was heavily reduced, even for Uncle Kary and the other ice dragonkin.

As the battle slowed down in pace due to my song, I noticed the Territory was starting to expand.

They’re trying to get me!

While the leviathans couldn’t physically enter through the barrier to attack me, their mana and Territory could. They weren’t giving up, even with all the support our side was getting. Fortunately, I could just increase my volume as I backed away.

As the fight was starting to turn into a stalemate, the reinforcement finally arrived. Uncle Alex and Uncle Guyul lead a sky-darkening squadron of dragons with them as they chase the leviathans away. Since they could simply dive into the abyss of the open ocean, it wasn’t like we could pursue them, even if Uncle Kary could catch up to them. Overextending wasn’t the way to go.

[“Hahaha, our little princess sure has the fangs to bite! Charging in when we elder scales were still planning; what joy to be alive to see Frozen Nest’s future secured!”] The patriarch of clan Bleezark cheered after the battle was over, putting me on a pedestal as he began to flaunt my achievement during this fight. The dragonkin, wyverns, and dragoons shouted my name in a chorus, using it to imitate a victory cry.

74 dragon, drake, beastman, wyvern followers gained

Total follower count updated. Total followers of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 48616

It should be a resounding victory, honestly. Nobody was heavily injured, no casualty on either side, and we managed to protect the barrier. The post-battle reports sounded so motivating … but as Uncle Kary said, this wasn’t a battle to the death, this was a territorial battle to secure our underwater ecosystem.

That was where we lost.

“… The coralplunks.” My eyes widened when we flew back to Iceskale, only to see something green in our azure sea. Looking closer, I also noticed that the fish and aquatic creatures were slowly floating up to the surface, laying there all lifeless.

“P-poison!” The matriarch of clan Ukanasch shouted as she approached it. “Eurypterid poison! They poisoned our farms!”

The area around the barrier was the open ocean and the underwater abyss was right below it. Mana, small aquatic beings and flora, and even different liquids could enter through it without an issue, and that included toxic fluids. Looking at the trail, the poison came from the deep depths, flowing into Iceskale due to the chaotic battle happening at the barrier.

After all, the Territory clash was like a monsoon and the waves pushed the poison towards our fish farm. We got played … The leviathans weren’t trying to sabotage the outside ecosystem, they were trying to lure us away to destroy our country’s most important industry—our fishing industry.

Fish, aquatic mammals, and our coralplunks were killed and the poison had spread too far around the shallow water. Our aquatic dragons moved with Uncle Kary, leaving nobody to properly assess this poison issue. After all, I couldn’t imagine the flying squad anticipating the poison that was happening right under them.

“Dragons do not like giving up their territory or rule …” Brother’s words couldn’t be more true when I saw Uncle Kary grieving over his pride-and-joy. His pride in being Frozen Nest’s bread winner was just damaged, and the eyes he had as he glared at the ocean sent a chill down my spine.

The raucous roars of his retainers and clan drowned out the noise of the city until it was dusk. It shook our city’s core more than the leviathan attack. They were demanding revenge. A debt had to be paid and their fangs wished to dig into blood.

… Victory in preventing deaths, but an absolute loss in morale.

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A note from AbyssRaven

Some melodic enjoyment for today. Final Fantasy 13's "Sunleth Waterscape." I put the violin and piano version together, but they aren't properly synced due to the two musician's interpretation of the song. I hope you guys enjoyed it as Hestia's first real instrument-only spell song. These are always harder to write about since, lacking lyrics, they are harder to convey the meaning behind them. Yet, I had fun describing the sounds and how the instruments react to each other. I hope you guys had fun, as well!

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