Dragonlord

Ep 5. What Even Was That?! (5)

Serenis watched as the scenery rapidly changed beneath her.

‘…So much has changed.’

It wasn’t just the cities or the civilization that occupied them. Entire landscapes had shifted. If Karas hadn’t confirmed the name of the star, she wouldn’t even be sure what planet she was on.

‘And if the world changed so much…’

Would her kin have remained the same?

Entire generations must’ve gone past, but dragons were loath to change. It was one of the reasons why Serenis was so hesitant to join any conflict during her life. Their tribe preferred seclusion, and they had the strength to support their secluded lifestyle. Few could dare question a dragon’s choice of life.

And because she knew her kin, Serenis was relieved when Karas had said they lived in seclusion still.

‘Maybe they haven’t changed that much.’

Maybe, just maybe…

They’d still remember her.

With a heart full of hope, Serenis sped across the skies. Or at least tried to…until she felt a pang of pain in her heart again.

‘Already?’

Compared to her original body, ‘tiny’ was not enough to describe her current mana reserve.

And normally, she wouldn’t even need to make mana wings. She had physical wings. Once upon a time, anyways.

She descended unto the ground every then and there, refilling her mana from the earth.

‘Oh, how the mighty have fallen…literally.’

At least her affinity with the star seemed to remain. If she’d lost even that, she couldn’t dare to cross the continent like this. Refilling her mana from the ground would remain a distant memory.

“Just a little more to go.”

After a few hours’ passing, a mountainous range came into view. Large forests of green stretched behind the range, creating what looked like a valley that bordered nature and civilization.

And, albeit faintly, she could sense familiar presences.

‘That must be it!’

Serenis could feel her heart throbbing, this time from excitement more than a lack of mana. The familiar presence grew stronger and stronger, informing her of their closing distance.

…?

‘Wait, it’s a little too strong, I’m still in the air-‘

Her thought was finished halfway until a lug of metal tackled her in the sky, sending her falling back down to the ground.

“…SHIELD!!!”

A large thud echoed throughout the mountain range as she landed on a jagged stone surface like a meteorite. No doubt her body would’ve been smashed to pieces without the rushed shielding spell.

She struggled to lift herself upright, but found her body being pressed down by what felt like a heap of metal. She pushed at it with what little strength she had, but to no avail.

“Ugh, what is this thing?”

For a moment, Serenis thought that an actual meteorite had hit her. What other metal-like object could plummet down to hit her in the middle of the sky?

However, the silvery grey hair her hand was placed on suggested otherwise.

‘Wait, it’s a person-’

Suddenly, the million-ton figure took a deep breath with her face still buried in Serenis’ stomach. That alone was enough to creep the dragonlord out, and it certainly didn’t help when the strange figure raised her head, silver eyes gleaming in delight.

“You smell nice!”

“…”

“Who are you?!”

Instead of answering, Serenis blankly stared at the figure’s face.

Silvery, unkempt hair. Long enough to almost reach her hips.

An extremely dense and heavy body that directly defied what their thin figure suggested.

Two grey eyes that lightly glowed in light, much akin to pieces of metal.

And a haphazard outfit that, judging by its color, was likely made out of the wearer’s own scales.

‘Arkrana? No, it can’t be. Arkrana died in that battle. And if this really is her, she would recognize my presence…’

Arkrana. One of her eldest kins that had an exclusive affinity for metal. She, too, shared the same hair and eyes. And the lack of care in her clothing. But despite the carelessness that reflected on the outside, Serenis knew that the dragon of steel retained one of the most righteous hearts of all her kin.

The likely explanation was that this dragon on top of Serenis was their descendant.

If the girl was in her dragon form, Serenis would’ve been able to tell better. Alas, dragons had always preferred taking a humanoid form unless the situation called otherwise. Their sheer size often caused numerous inconveniences…

…Or so the dragonlord tried to think, watching the girl sniff Serenis from head to toe.

‘Arkrana…your descendent is a pervert.’

“Child, could you…move aside? You’re quite heavy.”

“I don’t listen to weaklings.”

“Weak…ling…?“

“You smell nice.”

The metal dragon’s adamant stance was enough to paralyze Serenis’ thinking for a good few seconds.

‘When was the last time anyone called me a weakling?’

Quite literally never. Even the First had recognized her as a formidable foe.

“I’ll say it one more time. Move aside.”

“Try me, human.”

Okay, that does it.

Serenis took a deep breath, and the smile on her face was now mixed with annoyance and irritation. Lots of it.

Humans being unable to recognize her was understandable. They’re just humans.

But her own kin? Calling her a weakling? This was no different than a little child spitting on the face of their king.

“☐☐☐.”

As soon as the dragonlord muttered a short, incomprehensible phrase under her breath, the steel dragon could feel her body reacting to it immediately.

Serenis opened her mouth to speak in succession.

“Move.”

The dragon girl’s limbs snapped accordingly, getting up from the dragonlord’s body and standing absolutely still in place. It didn’t take long for her to realize she couldn’t move her own body.

And when she tried to open her mouth to speak, she realized that her lips were part of the binding.

Serenis slowly rose to her feet, briefly whisking off the dust from her now-tattered clothing. The dragonlord angrily glared at the metal dragon, though not quite out of malice. Just extreme irritation.

“Name.”

“Raizel!”

“Age.”

“100…something! I stopped counting after!”

“Nest.”

“Northern valley, not far from here!”

“Why did you tackle me in the sky?”

“Your presence, it was…it was, um…”

“Go on.”

“…Familiar. Very familiar. I thought you were a dragon!”

Serenis sighed. 100-something…she was just barely an adult. And to Serenis, she might as well be a hatchling still.

And the dragonlord couldn’t blame the youngling for feeling familiarity towards her. Even if Raizel’s never met Serenis directly, the dragonlord’s presence would instantly give away her status as a lord to her kin. Or at least as a far, far distant elder. But Raizel didn’t refer to Serenis as either, which would mean one of two things.

‘Either there aren’t any elderly dragons left, or…this one’s a little dense.’

Serenis watched Raizel frozen in place, struggling to move. She looked rebellious at first, but now it looked like the poor child was about to burst into tears.

‘Probably the latter.’

“…You’re free to move. As long as you don’t do anything to harm me.”

As if released from a century-old binding, Raizel burst into heavy pants. Serenis belatedly realized she wasn’t even letting the poor child breathe.

Woops.

“Huff…huff…what was that?!”

“Draconic speech.”

“What the heck is that?”

“A binding spell in the form of spoken words. A form of speech exclusive to the dragonlord towards her kin…or, their kin.”

“Dragonlord?”

“Yes. Your ruler.”

Serenis felt rather awkward having to explain this as a third party. Before, she could simply say it was her exclusive authority. Now it wasn’t.

But clearly, something about the explanation was confusing Raizel. Her head was tilted, her eyes squinted.

“Are you confused because I’m not a dragon?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it? Something’s clearly confusing you.”

“It’s just…well…”

“Well?”

“We have a ruler?”

“…”

Tell me you have one.

Please.