บท 26: Chapter 26: The Shard and the King
These beasts. I'll kill them all. That one. That's the godly. I'll eat it and... wait, what?
"Consume."
What?
"Eat."
Why?
"I am you and you are me."
Who are you?
"Evil."
What?
"We were sealed."
I matured. My memories... all of them. I am a shard of evil. Why would I do those things?
"We are a beast. Let's destroy."
No.
No.
"Royce was killed by them."
I already destroyed Falden.
"Then finish the job."
"No."
A new voice. No. That was mine.
"Obey me."
"No."
"Destroy!"
"NO!"
"I am-"
"Good!"
The voice raged against me, but I was no longer interested in it. Royce was standing, alive.
The Whilder shouted at me. It charged at Royce. I tackled it.
"Grouw?"
It was not expecting my power. It fell before getting up and roaring at me.
Two godly beasts roared and shouted.
"Run Whilder King. I will kill you otherwise."
"Foolish dragon, you are too young. We are equals in raw power, but when it comes to skill I exceed you, greatly."
"Obey..."
"What?"
"Obey my will and flee."
"What are you, little dragon?"
"Obey my will and flee."
"Very well. I shall spare you this time."
The Whilder King began to leave, and I heard the beings behind me cheer. But my siblings looked at me with fear.
I shifted into my catkin form. It looked the exact same despite my maturing.
The people were cheering, but they didn't know what they cheered for. I could only hope I wouldn't kill them in the end.
I walked up to my siblings. They looked at me, fear emanating from their bodies.
"I remember now, but don't fear."
I walked past them, but they stayed frozen.
Royce and Dallel stood, they had no fear, but only concern.
"Are you okay, Rose?"
"I'm fine, that took a lot out of me though."
"At least you are okay."
"Yeah... at... least... I... am-"
"Rose!"
_
Rose collapsed. Royce caught her. The adventurers were now all aware that she was a dragon, but that last part. Her true self. That was something no one could ever know.
Despite being a shard of evil, she still looked so young and kind.
Only I heard the words she whispered to her siblings.
Her bindings were gone, she could've killed all of us, but she didn't. Could it be because of her being raised as a dragon?
All I understood was that she was a threat bigger than anything I've ever seen, but I can't hurt her. I don't think I could bring myself too.
I hoped she would still have her pacifist mentality. Not wanting to kill as many as she could.
Her power was evil. Pure evil. We needed to be careful not to anger her, but in that moment, she was so young looking. Almost as though she was a kid.
"Looking at her, I can't find the dragon who just killed over 100000 people alone."
Asura was correct, there was no sign of evil. No sign of violence, just a sleeping girl. So kind that she managed to make me and Royce like her.
"We should take her to her inn room."
We nodded. Elren picked her up from Royce and carried her with a seeming kindness that he'd never shown to anyone else, including me and the other elves. He knew her nature and was scared by it, but he still showed great love for her. Thalia was the same, her expression showed a form of love that could only be shown between siblings. Despite knowing... they loved her.
Elren carried Rose into the city and Thalia guided him to the inn.
The elves had never seen their king show such kindness, so they looked shocked. They were used to either the playful king, or the demanding father who loved fighting. Never as the helpful older brother. And frankly, seeing him like that scared me too.
_
I woke up. I sensed Elren nearby me and Thalia right over me.
"What happened?"
"What do you remember?"
"I know... what do I know?"
I just felt tired. I knew that I had matured, yet I don't remember anything that happened to achieve it.
"Who did I kill?"
"The entirety of the Falden army."
"I see."
"Everyone now knows that you are a dragon."
"I see... Thalia, am I forgetting something important?"
She froze for a moment before lying.
"No. Not at all."
She knew I knew she was lying, but I didn't push it.
"Thalia?"
"Yes?"
"I can't move."
"You just took on a godly Whilder and an entire army of mythics. You are exhausted."
"We lost a lot of people, but because of your efforts, we won."
Then I remembered the last thing I remembered before waking up.
"Royce, is he okay?"
"Yes, I managed to heal him, but you became bloodlusted by his pain and your failure to heal him."
"Thank goodness."
I decided to check my stats. Some surprised me. I now fully understand why they didn't tell me.
------------------------------------------
Rose Hood/ Nickname: Innocence
HP: 609403/137000000
MP: 26438/9000000
SP: 15/1000000
LV: 32
Race: Mature Arcane Dragon (Catkin form)
Age: 133
Skills:
Fire Divination: MAX
Water Divination: 9
Earth Divination: MAX
Wind Divination: MAX
Arcane Divination: 8
Draconic Shift: MAX
Inquisitive mind: 9
Oblivion: 5
Death's Blow: 5
Elemental Breath: MAX
Immortal Scales: 3
Immortal's Regeneration: 6
Sword King: 7
Archmage: 3
Siphoner: 1
Dominion: 2
God's Wrath: 1
God Form: 1
Evil Domination: 2
Indomitable
Contract Breaker
Title:
Dragon of Arcane
Godly Beast
Slayer of Legends
Army Crusher [NEW]
Whilder Slayer [NEW]
Queen of Evil [NEW]
Shard of the Evil God
Hidden Dominion
Queen of Beasts [NEW]
-----------------------------------
"I'm a shard?"
They flinched, so that is what they tried to hide from me. I understand entirely.
"Eh, I'm too tired to do anything, don't worry."
"You... aren't mad we tried to hide it?"
"No, I'm fully aware of why you did it. I'm assuming I was bound by Mother?"
"Yes, they would break when you mature."
"Though, what's with this Queen of Beasts title?"
"I think it's because you managed to command the Whilder King."
"That would make sense."
I stood up.
"I'm going to walk around."
"Yeah, just please don't tell anyone about that. Royce and Dallel know because we thought you'd destroy all of us."
"I see. Well, it seems the time I spent in the nest gave me actual empathy. Plus, I don't remember anything about being a shard, so, for now at least, I should be safe."
They sighed in relief.
"Above all, you are still our sister, we will stand by you."
"Thanks."
I left my room and walked through the streets. Multiple adventurers nodded at me. I learnt a bit, my identity as a dragon was still not widely known, and the adventurers that were present during the fight were to act like I was a national secret. Mammon enforced this.
Asura walked up to me and smiled.
"So, how are you fairing after that fight?"
"Tired."
"Oh, and don't think I didn't notice that blast of evil. I think I can trust you for now but act carefully. Control that evil power or other S ranks will try to bring you down."
"Thanks."
"Honestly, I don't know much. All I know is that Elren knows about it. The moment you evolved he seemed to wilt in fear. Thalia even snapped right out of her bloodlust upon your maturing. That was before the wave of evil. So, whatever it is that they know that caused two mature dragons to wilt in fear, I think you should keep it a secret."
"I just learned of it, but I agree."
"Besides, I can't bring you down yet, I need to get a lot stronger."
"Hm, what level are you?"
"87."
"32."
"Wait, what level were you our first fight?"
"5."
"..."
"Asura?"
"HA HA HA! AS EXPECTED OF MY RIVAL! EVEN AT A LOW LEVEL YOU ARE STILL A MATCH FOR ME!!"
"And you are still too loud."
"Ha. Sorry. Tell ya what. Let me treat you to a drink."
"Why?"
"You destroyed the entire army of Falden and routed a godly Whilderbeast. If you don't deserve a drink, then the city doesn't deserve anything."
"I guess."
"Do you actually remember anything?"
"Nothing after I failed to heal Royce."
"Ah, that makes sense. You were bloodlusted. Heck, I don't think I would have stood a chance against you then. Makes me wonder how Saliad managed to push you so far."
"I overestimated him greatly and played with too much caution. In addition, I didn't want to break the city."
"That makes sense, I guess. You know, I have no clue how dragons gained a reputation as simple beasts."
"We are beasts, we just have full consciousnesses as well."
"Huh. Don't things like goblins have those though?"
"There is a difference. Dragons are capable of empathy and caring for one another. Whilders also have high intelligence, but as you probably saw, the Whilders couldn't care less about their fallen comrades."
"I see, though, I am still confused why he ran."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you looked him dead in the eyes for 10 minutes and then he suddenly just left."
"Huh, odd."
"Yeah. Welp, we are here, time for that drink I promised."
We went in and cheers erupted from the adventurers.
"So, a dragon? I guess that explains that obsession with meat."
"I heard it was treated like a national secret."
"Well, it's hard to keep quiet when you crash through the bar, crush an employee, and then save our lives."
"Oh... that did happen."
"Did you forget?"
"Most of the fight is a blur in my mind."
"I guess that makes sense, though when they said the pacifist Rose just ate the entire Falden army, I was a bit shocked."
"Bloodlust is a horrible state."
"I can imagine, heck some are saying that you scared off a godly Whilder."
That brushed my suspicions. Only dragons and beings like them called them Whilders. The rest called them Whilderbeasts.
"So, are you a human? Or something else."
"Hey Rose, that's surprisingly prying."
Asura seemed concerned, but the bartender merely laughed.
"I guess I couldn't keep it hidden forever. How'd you figure it out?"
"Only dragons or other mythic beasts call them Whilders. Everyone else calls them Whilderbeasts."
"Ah, well I'm a demon king."
The guild went silent except for me.
"So, who summoned you?"
"No one, I simply appeared in this world, but unlike those peers of mine, I have no interest in destruction. I'm a black sheep in that respect. Not unlike you, actually."
"Fun."
"I contracted myself to Mammon so he wouldn't try to kill me."
"Ah, I see. Is that why I can't sense any evil on you?"
"Yes, after all demon is a race like any other, we just tend to be bound to evil, not unlike dragons being bound to elemental magic."
"Interesting."
Then he spoke directly to my mind.
'And don't think I failed to notice, mistress. It's been a long time since I've spoken to a shard. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, just know I will support you unless Mammon orders me otherwise.'
'Thank you.'
'No, thank you for gracing me with your presence.'
Then out loud.
"Well, I guess I should extend some thanks to you for saving the city. Have a drink, on the house."
Asura clearly sensed something was said between us, but he remained calm. It was clear he didn't know what was said.
"So, you serve Mammon?"
"Yes, a demon's contract is as binding as a dragon's contract. Rose here can affirm how strong that is."
"Yes, draconic contracts give full control to the master, so technically, Mammon could order his death and the demon would have no choice but to kill himself."
"Yes, but my name is Alazath, but you can call me Zath."
Asura clearly knew his name.
"The Gentle Demon?"
"I believe that's one of my titles, yes."
Zath brought me my drink, and I thanked him.
The guild slowly came back to life as the shock of the friendly barkeep being a demon king wore off.
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