Arc | Chapter. 157: End of a Journey (Patreon)

Chapter. 157: End of a Journey

During the journey, we stopped to enjoy local cuisine. I had quite a lot of platinum coins to spare so I made sure to order everything. Much to Lily’s surprise.

“Arc, are you sure you can eat that much? Also people are looking at us…”

Lily was just as awkward as always, which I didn’t mind. “It’s fine,” I replied. “And yes, I can eat that much, but a lot of the food is for you too.”

My explanation was left in the air as I watched the dragon freeze, her eyes widening by the second as she blinked a couple of times.

“Really?” she asked, surprised.

I found her reaction rather weird, but after thinking about it, it was the first time I was inviting her food. She hadn’t exactly been around for eating… And I paused.

“Do you need more food?” I asked, concerned. “You haven’t eaten in… days.”

Lily blinked before fervently shaking her head. “I can go months without eating, this isn’t a big deal, so no…”

I stared at the dragon for a moment. I didn’t think Lily could get any more… kind… thoughtful… precious? I wasn’t quite sure, but her gesture made me feel another level of appreciation for the dragon.

“You can’t do that,” I declared.

She tensed. “I can’t?”

“You are treating yourself as my slave or something,” I sighed.

“Well you are the…” she trailed off.

“The…?”

Lily had shrunken in her seat at this point as she continued in a whisper. “You’re the Queen of Dragons… the Dragon Queen of Frost.”

She took a breath, and continued before I could stop her.

“While I’m not a slave it is my duty to serve you, that is why my needs or other things are a low priority. Which is why, it’s fine if I don’t eat, and it is also why I greatly appreciate the food you’ve ordered for me… Arc.”

Her voice sounded resolute at the end, and I was a bit confused before I felt a momentary sadness as I sighed.

“Lily, I may be the self-proclaimed ruler of the dragons, and you may be technically a dragon under me, but none of that matters right now. Not with my wishes, and not in how I see you,” I explained.

“How you see me?” Lily seemed confused. “I don’t understand, what do you see me as, Arc?”

“A friend,” I sighed.

And the dragon before me paused. She began to lightly shake and then slowly nodded.

“That is why, you can’t act like a servant or anything, if you have requests or needs you can voice them.” I closed my eyes.

“I will…” I heard Lily’s voice, being somewhat hesitant. “It will be hard, but I’ll try. Considering I do not have money, do you think you could continue paying for my meals then…?”

It was hard to hear her, but I nodded. “Of course, thank you for helping me travel to Draliz.”

“Ah… yeah.”

I opened my eyes only to see the dragon looking at the table, a small smile present on her face. That was enough to made me feel at ease. Moments later, numerous waiters arrived and placed food on the table, shortly after, more tables were moved to accommodate the other dishes.

There were easily over two dozen of them, and Lily seemed to pause as people got from their seats and went to stare at who ordered that much food.

“Arc, remember how you told me to voice my needs…?” she asked shyly.

“Yeah…?”

“I require more… less… people staring at me.”

Her words made me laugh a bit, and in the end, after talking with the staff I erected an ice curtain that prevented people from peering at the dragon. And finally after that, I turned to the numerous dishes, from roasted meats, to salads and soups. I felt like everything was there, and my heart lightly raced at the sight.

Lily also seemed eager but reserved.

“I ordered for you too, remember that.”

“How do I know which one is mine…?” she asked apprehensively.

“Just eat whatever you like, if we lack anything I’ll order more.” I smiled.

Lily blinked and slowly nodded before she began to slowly help herself to the food. And soon after she started eating I did so too, making sure to enjoy myself in the process.

◇ ◇ ◇

The journey continued as we stopped for food every so often. Lily, slowly growing used to being a friend and not a servant. And towards the end of it, the dragon seemed a lot more comfortable.

“You know, I never imagined food could be that good!”

“Did you never travel around and try different kinds?” I asked, curious.

“Not at all,” she answered. “I mostly kept to myself in my different lairs, only going to the city for whatever I needed; my meals consisted of whatever street food there was. Street food is good, but… it doesn’t compare to what we tried.”

“It doesn’t,” I agreed immediately.

All of the restaurants we had gone to had been prestigious, and the only reason we were accepted is because of our status as S Tier adventurers. However, they were expensive too. I had spent half of my platinum coins in the process.

“I really appreciate it, you know?” Lily said.

“Yeah, I appreciate you helping me with all of this too.” I looked at the passing ocean.

The dragon nodded. “We are almost at Draliz now, what do you think you will do when you get there?”

“Mostly see what I missed out on, check that everything is okay. What about you?”

“Well, I was hoping you’d let me stay for some time… I want to see what your life is like, if you don’t mind…”

“I don’t,” I answered immediately. “Anything else?”

“I’d also like to try to figure out how long you spent on the Forgotten Places,” she said quietly.

I nodded. “That’d be interesting too, do you think time flows differently there?”

“I’m quite certain time is different in the Forgotten Places,” she stated. “Though given how screwed that place is, I do not know if time varies inside of it.”

She did have a point, given it was a literal graveyard of worlds with forces that transcended the world at play.

“How did this world gain a connection to the Forgotten Places anyway?” I asked.

“I do not know, but my theory is that the era of oblivion quite literally tore the System apart and allowed corruption to seep in. Powerful barriers were erected to keep that corruption away from the rest of the world and I believe they turned into portals to the Forgotten Places,” she explained.

“And yet, I learned that the corruption comes regardless of what one does, everything that has a seed from the original System will end up haunted by it.”

“I remember you said that, but I do believe the reason we have such a strong connection with that world has to do with the era of oblivion, as for the specifics? I’m not aware of those.”

“I see.”

“But let us not think about the fate of our world,” Lily said. “I think the only salvation we can find is severing the System from this world, after all.”

That certainly sounded like a grim thought, but I didn’t actually agree or disagree with her.

“When do you think we’ll arrive at Draliz?”

“Morning, feel free to sleep if you’d like,” she said.

I shook my head. “I’ll keep you company until we arrive, thank you for helping me with this journey.”

“Ah… yeah… thank you, Arc.”

And with that, we continued riding into the night.

* * * * *

The sun is high.

The water spirits are in unrest.

A frenzy is coming…

The Heroine of Water closed her eyes, the sun was now filtering through the window, and it was time for her to act. She actually, kind of dreaded all of this, playing the tyrant, coming in and threatening people⁠— no, it wasn’t a play, for she had to follow through with her words should the request not be fulfilled. She dreaded that part, hated it, but at the same time if she wanted to keep meaningless heroes from coming after her, she had to keep the reputation she upheld.

Still, she didn’t want to kill the Grand Dragon Elders, especially not Malz. Part of her, felt for the woman. But in the end, she had a word to upkeep. And so, the Heroine of Water got in her knees and began to pray, she prayed for the lives she was about to take, she prayed that they would run enough for her to “give up” the case, and inwardly she condemned her actions.

She had grown numb to killing a very long time ago, but she found that praying still made her feel… human. As weird as that was. She was a monster and she lived the life of a monster, she didn’t justify herself, only her interactions ever felt human.

Finally, after thirty minutes she stood up and closed her eyes.

In the end, my only fulfillment is fighting, otherwise, there is no reason as to why I came to this world…

It was her life purpose, she had ventured into the Forgotten Places multiple times already, she had fought hundreds of heroes, and she had lived centuries. In the end, that was her only reason to still exist in this world. Then she scoffed.

“Plus the time I tried to kill myself the Hero of Arlas showed up.”

Life was suffering. That was what she had concluded. Of course, she didn’t mop around or feel sad about it; it was more like a numb thought. Finally, after dressing herself, she turned into a puddle of water and disappeared.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere the Hero of Humans waited near the castle of Vaelith, his eyes closed as he channeled his power. The staff had been brought to him, so now simply came unleashing it all. Next to him, stood someone familiar, a man in wraps and weird clothes, a long hat and a slave collar around his neck.

“She is coming,” the Dragon of Water stated simply.

“Of course she is.” The Hero of Humans shook his head. “And, I’ll fulfill my end of the bargain as promised. Thank you for your service, Ruvaar.”

“You flatter me, I’m glad I could be of use.” Ruvaar, the Dragon of Water knelt. “May this fight be an easy one.”

“Hopefully.”

And at that moment, the Hero of Humans sensed the Heroine of Water inside of the castle. Then, a second later he opened his eyes and he was facing her. The woman paused and a wild smile appeared.

“And here I thought you had kicked the bucket, this shall be an entertaining fight.”

“You’re even more crazy now.” The Hero of Humans sighed and met her gaze. “But do not worry, I’ll make sure to give you a fitting end.”

“Is that so?”

The Hero of Humans met her gaze, and immediately called the power of those that had fallen, his arm bulged with strength and he called.

“[Realmbreaker].”

The Heroine of Water stepped to the side, visibly dodging the punch and⁠— she threw up blood as her ribs and shattered, before she was thrown at supersonic speeds⁠— walls broke and a second later the Heroine of Water was blasted out of the city.

A moment later, he arrived on the plains next to the city as a hole exploded. The rumbling enough to cause mass hysteria inside the walls of Vaelith. He just had to kill this wench, and all would be good in the world. His power had now been restored. Then he could continue with his plan of killing all of the heroes in the world.

Best of all? The Hero of Arlas agreed with his actions.

The Hero of Humans smiled before he felt his heart explode, unfortunately, his body had water, and he grunted as he began to use another skill. Thankfully, the Hero of Spirits had quite the useful skills.

“[Spirit Remnants of the Past⁠—]” And he threw up blood. “[Bring Terror to the Land Once More].”

And at that moment his body exploded into chunks as the start of a terrifying fight began. One that could easily destroy all of Draliz.