Bab 139: Legendary Katar Asphalt (III)
With a heavy thump of my wings, I shot into the air. There was no time for Styrd to retort back or say anything. He fell forward, grabbing onto Asphalt and hugging close to my scales, so he didn't fall off.
I was high and far enough from the Orc city that I leveled out and just lazily glided in the sky. There was no way I was going back to that place or see any other Orcs for a while.
"Young mistress," Tart stated excitedly, "that was awesome!" He threw up his hand in the air.
"I'm sorry, what?" I was confused in Tart's sudden burst of words.
"You showed them who's boss!" He chuckled at the thought of seeing so many Orcs struck with lost hope. "You seriously slapped Orska in the face with what you just said, and I believe that was the right thing to do."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Phil stated he wasn't too pleased with Tart's words, "They're not all bad, you know."
"That's a matter of opinion." I retorted back. Right now, I was a bit hard-headed. So far, every Orc that I had seen had been very rude and mean towards Stryd. My mind was filled with negative thoughts in what the Orcs had probably done to Styrd, making me annoyed.
Kathy squealed in fear when I took a sudden left. She grabbed onto Phil, pushing her large chest onto his arm. For some reason that ticked me off, I swiveled some more just to get her off, but she tightened her hold. I suddenly realized what I was doing and felt stupid.
"They were some of them that didn't dislike Stryd, you know. Though, why are you flying strangely?" Phil asked, looking at me worriedly that I might pull a loop on all of them. "Is something the matter?"
"No." I unconsciously sharply replied. Phil was good. He somehow always tends to read my emotions like a book.
"Well, then, please fly straight. It's making my stomach a bit queasy."
With a sigh, I paid attention back to flying.
"Don't worry, young mistress," Moca stated. "We don't have to worry about the Titan anymore. You have done the right thing. It is Stryd's decision now."
Stryd was unsure about the whole thing, but I could tell that he was thinking about everything we said.
"I don't know what to do…" Styrd said, unsure of himself. "I don't feel like a hero to go against the Titan in the first place."
"Then you don't have to," Moca replied. "There is nothing wrong with running away, but…" He slowed down his speech, pulling out his white napkin from his pocket, he wiped his sweat. "Fate will always pull you towards the direction that you are destined for."
"What if I don't want to be a Hero."
"That is something that you can't say no for forever."
"But-"
"You don't have to do it now," I replied. Stryd was having a difficult time deciding if he should help or not. Honestly, I hope he didn't help the Orcs for ten or more years, but it wasn't in my hand anymore. The Legendary weapons all had the mind of their own. Until I figure out how to control my powers, most of my magical energy would be powering each weapon by itself, and I couldn't stop Stryd from doing what he was destined to do: fight the Titan.
"You can wait ten years or twenty if you want," I stated, hoping that he got the gist of what I was asking. Ten years of damnation against the Titan was like condemning half their race to death.
Alarmed at how long I stated, he furrowed his brow, unsure what to say and do. There were a couple of thoughts running through his head, telling me that he did think of condemning them. I saw a slip of smile leave his face but quickly was squashed away.
"Honestly, I would appreciate it if you did, but that's not completely my decision. You have Asphalt, and how you use it is up to you."
I was way too considerate. I should've told him not to use it for the Orcs for ten years. Where is the terrifying dragon in me? Seriously, I need to work on it a bit more, but I didn't want to be a tyrant. Helping out the Orcs right now wasn't on my agenda, and I was going to make sure that I didn't help for another ten years if I have too.
"Thank you," Stryd stated in a low voice. Tears started to well up as he held Asphalt close to his body.
Seeing a full-grown half Orc cry made me uncomfortable that I had to look away. The others did the same, giving him space to think about everything that had happened. I headed towards the direction of home, knowing full well that I was leaving the Orcs to defend by themselves against the Titan. It didn't matter to me right now, and I just kept flying.
The day quickly turned into night, flying through the endless sand dunes. I was getting tired from flying nonstop. Dealing with all that problem with the Orc was tiring, and adding that flying made it worse.
I landed near a high dunes, using the height for covers when the morning sunrises. The thought of getting blinded by the sun was something that I didn't want to wake up to. It just hurt way too much, bringing in unnecessary pain in the morning. With my legs being dragged underneath me, I made my way over towards a level ground.
The others quickly got off and started to make camp, mainly because it was getting cold fast. Even I began to slightly feel uncomfortable with the change of weather, and that said a lot. I was part lizard, so the temperature in my body didn't always stay constant. I already knew I wasn't a winter dragon. I don't know how people can stay sane and warm in the cold. Even though I could spit out Ice, I wasn't completely immune to the cold.
"Are you okay?" Phil asked. He jumped off my back, stretching.
"No," I replied, the cold was seeping into my very muscles, making me a bit sluggish. Still, I was able to move around without too much trouble. All I wanted to do was hibernate for days if I was given a choice. "I'm tired."
"I could see that."
"Well, then why ask?" I said grumpily. Getting tired made me grumpy, especially if I didn't have enough to sleep.
"Calm down, you're ready to bite off my head." Phil wasn't sure if he should continue talking to me or stay away, but he braced himself to speak.
"Sorry." I sighed, flopping down onto the ground. It wasn't easy, trying to get comfortable. Honestly, it was quite hard. I missed the soft luxurious bed at home. The thought of jumping into it and sleeping on it made me want it even more. This journey was seriously testing my resolve of never ever wanting to leave comfort again, but at the same time, I was relearning the appreciation in what I had.
"No, it's alright. I was rude of me to not ask if you were alright this whole time." Phil stated, he came closer and dropped down next to me. Suddenly, he put his back against my side, getting unusually comfortable as if it was a normal everyday thing. On the other hand, I gave him a strange look that made me wonder what he was trying to pull. "So, are you alright from that whole flight?"
"Yea, the flying wasn't too much of a problem."
"Then it must've been the Orcs, right?"
I was quite taken aback by how quickly he nailed it. Dealing with drama wasn't easy, especially from crazies like Orska, who was bent on chasing after the future. Not only that, all the other Orcs were a bunch of rude bastards that I didn't want to deal with. It made the so-called Titan look like nothing compared to them.
When I didn't reply, Phil continued. "You did what you had to do. There is no question about that."
"I know."
"Good. Don't let it get to you too much. You did more good for Stryd than anyone of those Orcs could."
"I know."
"Plus, if you weren't there. He probably would've never made it out."
I turned my head towards him. "What do you mean, he would've never made it out? Were they going to kill him?" God, I hope not. That would've been horrible. These Orcs were seriously crazy. It was like the old Sparta training or something.
"Yes."
"Are you serious?" I gasped. "That's barbaric."
"That's their culture. The Orcs kill their weak and bring up the strong. It's not only done by the Orcs. The Divine does the same."
"That's a bit too much."
"Well, not really. It's their way of life." Phil looked over towards Stryd, who was struggling to start a fire. He clumsily dropped the stick and even hurt his foot against an icebox that Tart had conjured up. "Orcs that are seen as weak are killed on the spot. It's to ensure that their species continue to thrive. In this world, Berry, we need to get stronger. There are monsters out there that are stronger than anyone of us….well." He tilted his head, turning towards me. "I'm not sure if there are other beings stronger than you now, after what I learned about you.��
"I'm not strong."
"That's not how Orska had put it."
"I can barely even control my magic."
"That's just an excuse." Phil snorted at my words, shaking his head at what I said. "Even though I don't have full control of my magic, I'm just starting to get a fraction of my power. You and I have thousands of years to get better. There is no rush to get stronger."
"Well," I dropped my head onto my arm and got as comfortable as I could. "It seems like the world needs me to hurry it up. I seem to run into quite a bit of unnecessary trouble. From the Black Gryphon, his children, and now problems with the Titan. What's next?"
"You are the dragon maiden," Phil stated. "Especially because your life is tied with the legendary weapons."
"I know." I let out a sigh, a gust of smoke left my mouth and nose. "I didn't ask for it, you know."
"Nobody asked for it. It just comes to them in full force."
"Yea." Closing my eyes, I relaxed.
"I wouldn't be surprised if another Legendary creature popped out sooner or later." Phil half-heartedly chuckled at his jokes.
"Please, no." I snapped awake, hoping that was a joke. The thought of having another legendary creature running around in this world sounds horrible. Already one was causing a massive devastation, especially the Black Gryphon, who had taken over a couple of Beast-kin cities is what I heard from Moca. "I'm not looking forward to hearing or seeing the Titan."
"Me neither." Phil replied, "He's going to be one smelly monster."
"That bad?"
"Oh, yea." Phil nodded. "The reports that I have found on the Titan described in so many details on how horrendous its body odor was even a hundred miles away. Even the amount of monsters, wildlife, and plants that died from being near him died instantly. That says a lot."
I cringed. The thought of smelling body odor made me not want to ever meet him.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone