Arc | Chapter. 70: The Status of the Dragon of Water (Patreon)

Chapter. 70: The Status of the Dragon of Water

I stared at the Dragon of Water with a small smile, my body slowly regenerating as the man wriggled on the ground in pain. Unexpectedly, the Dragon of Water was extraordinarily strong, perhaps even strong enough to defeat the Dragon of Frost and his arcane magic, but… it didn’t matter.

Not while he was in such a state, lying down on the ground like that. Considering my injuries and how I felt, I really thought I was being quite kind. After all, I could rescind our deal and make him still go through with it, more than that ⁠— if I wasn’t mistaken ⁠— I could keep him as a slave for as long as my heart pleased; which could be a lifetime.

Though I wasn’t the kind of person to hold a grudge for that long…

But the notion of being able to do that truly made the current me happy, because after all I was still very much resentful of my little encounter with the Dragon of Water.

Finally, after a second of being down the Dragon of Water began to rise again, perhaps I had to give him some sympathy but I didn’t.

“Command: Do it yet again.”

At that moment his eyes grew wide and his own hand slapped him, the rest of the dragon elders winced as he flopped onto the ground. I smiled. Was it joy derived from malice? Perhaps. But, it was one that came from a vengeful feeling; it was fulfilling to know that the same dragon that tried to kill me was now groveling at my feet.

Well perhaps he didn’t try to kill me, but he certainly did something he shouldn’t have. Whether it was seriously injuring me, gloating or even threatening me⁠— the list went on. Needless to say, it was something that truly felt great.

I smiled as the Dragon of Water laid there, then I turned. My eyes glanced past the dragon elders, who had mixed expressions, and landed at the only other person present. A slim man of pale complexion; the commentator. He was looking at me with utter shock, our gazes met for just a moment before he shook his head and immediately began to make his way to the exit.

If I was honest, all of this chaos had gone out of hand.

I had had no qualms about using my title to get fights so I could fight the Dragon of Water, but I didn’t think he would simply put; transform into a dragon. Though logically speaking, it was kind of my fault for even trying it in the first place. The safest plans were plans that weren’t executed after all.

That was just how things were.

I shook my head and turned to the other dragons.

“So, how should we deal with the commotion?”

Malz thought, Faral looked at the Dragon of Water for a moment before shaking her head, and the Dragon of Earth spoke.

“I believe it is best we immediately leave without any interaction.”

“So avoid responsibility?” I asked, raising my brow.

“Essentially yes,” the Dragon of Earth said with a nod. “I believe humans tend to want answers over major events, even if it doesn’t necessarily concern them. Though I will warn that rumors of our appearances will probably circulate either way.”

“Right…” A sigh almost left me. “Yeah that is true, so I guess it doesn’t matter that much.” I shook my head. “That said the least annoying thing would be to leave but…”

I trailed off looking back to the Dragon of Water, an idea already brewing in my mind⁠— though I guess I didn’t want to give myself extra renown just for the sake of vengeance… I decided against dragging the Dragon of Water through the gates of the arena while chained up and walking on all fours.

It was a bit too much even for my standards.

Finally, I clapped my hands and spoke.

“Alright let’s leave, everyone come hold my hand or whatever. Including you,” I looked at the man that was getting up. “Dragon of Water.”

He meekly nodded as Malz enthusiastically came to hold my hand, next was Faral who did the same. The Dragon of Earth grabbed my shoulder and the Dragon of Water hesitated but ultimately ended up grabbing my wrist.

“Alright⁠— [God Step].”

And we vanished from the arena and the town, landing somewhere in the desert.

* * * * *

Yasin’s heart was still rushing⁠— the Heroine of Frost had looked at him just once, but that moment⁠— that single moment had been seared into his mind for probably years to come. Even though he deep down knew it lasted perhaps a second at most, it had felt like an eternity. The moment he had met her gaze, he froze.

He saw within her blue eyes the vision of a frozen tundra, a land of ice that reeked of death, one full of corpses and bones. A place that couldn’t exist in this reality, and yet it had been so vivid. So… terrifying. For a brief moment, he had even seen a terrifying being, one whose aura was enough to freeze him⁠— but then it all ended.

Even now, as he paced down the halls of the arena he felt the same way, the same kind of terror gripped at his heart. He walked with trembling movements, sometimes replaying the moment in his mind, sometimes questioning why he chose to watch things, and one time grateful for being able to witness what he did.

But for the most part he was a ball of anxiety, and things didn’t change until he left the arena and dozens of town guards and townspeople pointed weapons at him.

Yasin paused.

All around, there were spears, swords, shields⁠— all raised at him. There was a crowd forming in the distance, the sun shining bright across the desert, sand sweeping across the landscape as he blinked. What was happening? He didn’t understand it⁠—

“Where are the fighters?!” One of the people on guard asked.

Yasin was stunned for a moment, he barely understood what was happening and then someone was suddenly asking about some fighters? What fighters? Every single one of them had evacuated, all that remained inside the arena were mythical beings⁠— and his thoughts stopped. Yasin took a very deep breath.

“They are still inside the arena.”

“Is the fight still going on?!” Another man asked.

He shook his head. “As far as I am aware no; the Dragon of Water has been enslaved by the Heroine of Frost.”

At that moment, it was the turn of the crowd to be surprised. Mutters and murmurs broke out amongst the people, and even the guards and weapon wielders seemed thrown off by what Yasin had said.

“Impossible, how do you enslave a dragon?!”

Someone called, and in reply Yasin shook his head. “I do not know, a dome of ice was summoned and when it disappeared it had already happened.”

His reply seemed to trigger more gossip, but eventually someone asked.

“How are you alive?!”

Yasin shook his head. “I don’t think they intended to kill anyone.”

That seemed to be enough to placate everyone’s questions as they began to discuss things. Yasin began to walk forward as the people made a gap for him to pass. He was tired, and he didn’t even know if he wanted to continue being a commentator.

Somehow, during this fight he had felt so shocked that he couldn’t say anything. It was beyond anything he had ever expected, and he supposed that it wasn’t something that he could exactly forget either. He had felt a lot of excitement, and joy, but it also made him realize that perhaps he really didn’t feel like watching any further battles.

The sight of the colosseum just made him think of that moment and that moment alone. That feeling of danger. In fact, even thinking of the excitement made him feel some level of fear. It was as if he couldn’t stand the thought of watching people fight anymore, and perhaps… that was for the best.

He had been saving up all of his earnings since coming here, and it turned out to be a hefty sum from tips over his salary.

Perhaps it was best to use that money to live leisurely for a few years…

Or maybe he could start a business and live leisurely for the rest of his days too…

Yasin took a breath, and he left as all the townspeople were left to wonder when the people inside would come out. However, Yasin decided that that wasn’t his problem anymore. Choosing to leave Miri-Sunre instead.

* * * * *

We now were in the middle of the desert, the dragons stood all around me for a moment before I turned to the Dragon of Water. He looked at me in surprise and for a moment I had the urge to kick him but I restrained myself⁠— and I kicked him.

He toppled and fell down the sand dune as I let out a sigh, everyone looked at me weirdly.

“I tried to not do it, okay?”

Malz nodded. “Don’t worry I’d do it too.”

Regis’karr let out a sigh, Faral said nothing and the Dragon of Earth shook his head in disapproval. Meanwhile the Dragon of Water hit the bottom and slowly stood up, he looked at me with disbelief but I just shook my head.

I felt slightly bad now. But emphasis on the word slightly. To be honest, I didn’t know what exactly were our travel plans now. Or what was there even to do. However, as my stomach rumbled in hunger I made a decision.

“Alright.” I hopped down the sand dune, sliding over to the Dragon of Water who winced. “Transform into a dragon and take us to a town, let’s go get something to eat.”

The Dragon of Water wordlessly nodded and became a blue dragon that just so happened to be injured in various places and with a collar around his neck. Whatever was left of his royal visage had been blemished by bruises and other things. It was… well it made me feel a bit bad, but at the same time right now I didn’t have the mental capacity to feel actually bad for him, the image of him being an asshole was still very fresh in my mind.

And perhaps it would remain that way for some time.

The other dragons quickly made their way to us and I got on top of the Dragon of Water. Then, I gestured to everyone. Malz blinked.

“Are you suggesting we all… ride the Dragon of Water?”

I nodded. “Exactly, I don’t want like five dragons flying around.” I didn’t bother counting. “So let’s just do this instead.”

Malz slowly nodded. Faral stared in silence, and the Dragon of Earth frowned.

“That is stripping him of his dignity.”

“Well he fucked around and found out,” I crossed my arms. “Besides at this point, he’s a slave and more than anything not only did he try to kill me, he could’ve killed you too, and everyone here.”

The Dragon of Water just lowered his head in response. Regis’karr and Malz made their way to take a seat with me, though Regis’karr was considerably more apprehensive. Soon Faral came, almost struggling to do even walk, and finally there was just the Dragon of Earth standing there alone.

“I am not⁠—”

“It’s fine,” the Dragon of Water said simply. “This is my punishment.”

The Dragon of Earth blinked before shaking his head. “If you see it that way then, I suppose I shall begrudgingly accept.”

With that we rode the Dragon of Water to get something to eat.

* * * * *

About a day had passed, and Si-Arik had decided to set off on his journey towards the capital of the Miri-Sunre Republic, all in order to seek the wisdom of the Ultimate Warrior of Miri-Sunre in regards to Arc and the dragons.

He too was a hero after all…