Dragonlord

Ep 200. If You Don’t Want It, Then… (1)

Ep 200. If You Don’t Want It, Then… (1)

The very edges of the airborne fortress.

Above the clouds within the deity of creation’s peaceful abode, a series of heavy breathing caught her attention.

As she turned, the deity could soon see a returned shadowguard: a member of her most trusted elites, eager to carry out their deity’s orders.

…Or so it should’ve been. But instead of their usual composed self, this one’s expression was ridden with cowardly fear, their body shivering as if they’d just seen a ghost.

“L, Lady Letherien…!”

Letherien’s eyes quickly narrowed at the shadowguard’s unsightly display. And in fact, it wasn’t just her that was displeased by the shadowguard’s lack of composure.

Aldon abruptly arose from his seat. A pair of menacing eyes glared down at the returned shadowguard, his voice mirroring his liege’s growing annoyance.

“How unsightly of you, Zalde. Explain yourself.”

“Aldon! R…reinforcement. Enemies have appeared at Kavir.”

“Reinforcement? Addressing such threats was the very purpose your squad elected to remain, was it not?”

“It was beyond our abilities…I barely managed to escape myself.”

Should Zalde have been even a single step slower than he was, the elf may very well have joined the desert as a grain of fine, ashen bones.

But despite his subordinate’s distress, Aldon’s expression only contorted further.

“Hmph. And how large was this reinforcement? A hundred?”

“…Three.”

“Three?”

Even Letherien’s expression visibly contorted with ridicule at the last answer.

And now, Aldon’s voice was practically a bellowing roar.

“You mean to tell me that three enemies was all it took for you to flee like a coward?!”

“T, two were nothing! Skilled mages perhaps, but nothing noteworthy. But the last one…a, a horned woman was among them. She bested Captain Keldrin with ease, and…and…”

While Zalde continued his stuttering expression, Aldon’s eyes began to study the shadowguard proper, finally taking notice of something he should have right away.

‘His equipment is gone.’

The equipment that Letherien herself had bestowed upon them were nowhere to be found on Zalde’s person. Even what little remained of his armor was razed and torn.

Furrowing his brows, Aldon then spat out his next question.

“…Your equipment was taken as well?”

However, Zalde quickly shook his head in denial.

“No, they weren’t taken. They were…they were all destroyed by that woman’s magic.”

“…What?”

As Aldon momentarily found himself at a loss for words, a short silence filled the skyward fortress.

And behind the shadowguard’s leader, a spark of amusement lit up within Letherien’s eyes.

Unfortunately, Aldon himself was not amused whatsoever.

“…Destroyed? The very items that Lady Letherien created herself, destroyed? You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth, Aldon! It wasn’t just mine – all of our squad’s equipment were destroyed in the same manner. I may be no expert in magic, but something…something was strange about that woman’s magic.”

“You useless scu-“

Clack!

As Letherien put down her cup onto the table much harder than usual, Aldon immediately turned his head to face his deity – to see Letherien wearing a forced, crooked smile.

“…You were right to judge it strange, Zalde. No meager spell would be able to destroy my creations.”

As Letherien’s gaze fell upon Zalde himself, the shadowguard quickly lowered his head, praying for mercy internally.

And this time, Letherien really did beam a genuine smile, her amusement evidently winning over her annoyance.

“A very apt magician must have appeared. Maybe it’s Felicis herself, even.”

As Letherien’s discomfort seemingly melted away, Aldon quickly adjusted his own expression, doing away with the anger in his voice instantly to address his deity.

“Felicis…would that be the deity of mana?”

“That’s correct, Aldon. Oh, she used to be so adorable…copying my creations with her magic.”

Reminiscing a distant past, Letherien’s smile continued to widen further – into what one could describe as an eerie, maddened grin.

‘She was so cute back then.’

Creating new spells that were modelled after Letherien’s creations,

Following the brother she hated so much like an obedient pet,

Shivering in fear like a helpless child,

Sobbing by herself in a series of self-loathing.

“…Maybe she’s trying to make up for her brother’s absence. I wonder if she finally succeeded in killing him?”

After posing her question into the air, Letherien slowly arose from her seat.@@novelbin@@

She then approached the very edges of her fortress gardens, looking out towards the distant clouds – towards the deity of mana she so fondly remembered.

‘It has to be, right? Who else would destroy my creations with magic?’

Waves of excitement threatened to overwhelm Letherien. Her heart felt like it would burst any moment.

The Felicis she knew could’ve captured all four with ease. There’s no way Zalde had ‘managed’ to escape.

‘She let him go on purpose. Just so he could return here and deliver the news to me...’

The deity of mana’s appearance was a notable obstacle in what would have been an extremely one-sided conflict.

And to Letherien, this arrangement was more exhilarating than anything.

‘Look how you’ve grown, Felicis. Feels like yesterday when you were begging me on your knees…and now you’re daring to provoke me.’

With her eyes still fixed onto the distant clouds, Letherien opened her mouth once more.

“Zalde. Is there anything else you wish to report?”

“…No, my liege…”

“I see. Then, would you be so kind and step over here now?”

“…?”

As even Aldon stepped aside for Zalde, the shadowguard cautiously approached the deity, his face ridden with confusion.

But when he finally came to halt at Letherien’s side at the edges of the fortress gardens, his deity beamed warmly towards him, pointing down at the ground – or lack thereof.

“Not quite. One more step.”

“…Pardon?’

“You’ve still another step to go, Zalde.”

One step or half a step, Zalde was standing on the very edges of an airborne fortress: there was nothing but wide-open skies before him.

And as he finally understood the meaning of his deity’s words, Zalde immediately collapsed to his knees with a panicked face, his hands clasped together in a prayer-like manner.

“L, Lady Letherien, please show mercy…! There won’t be any further mistakes from hereon!”

“Good. I hope you don’t make any in your next life.”

“…Please! I, I can still be useful! If you but grant me one more chance, I swear to prove myself useful again!”

“…”

“Lady Letherien, p-“

Crack!

“…Huh?”

Before Zalde could finish his haphazard pleas, the elf felt something hard driving into the side of his waist.

But although a sharp pain gnawed at his side from his crushed ribs, the pain didn’t even register within his mind.

Instead, all he could notice was Aldon’s outstretched foot, growing smaller and smaller in the distance above him.

“…Aldon…!”

Though it was far too late, Zalde’s hands pointlessly reached outwards in a vain attempt to survive.

But soon enough, even the series of bitter curses faded into the clouds beneath.

“…Haha.”

With a satisfied smile, Letherien gradually returned to her seat.

“Thank you, Aldon.”

“My pleasure. Karia has no place for defects.”

Having regained her perfect serenity, Letherien then brought her cup of tea back to her lips.

A quiet tune filled the atmosphere as the deity softly hummed to herself.

“No. That it doesn’t.”