Chapter 185 : Chapter 185
Chapter 185 - The Youngest Son's Worry?
An unexpected three-way confrontation began.
Between the mountain-like bulks of the Fire Dragon and the Bone Dragon, only the Family Head stood alone.
Among them, the first to speak was the Fire Dragon.
-O one who stands upon my dead kin. I ask you. Was it you who killed my kin?
“And if it was me? Do you intend to get revenge?”
The Fire Dragon snorted. Dozens of small sparks appeared and then vanished.
-I was simply curious. You couldn't have killed a young kinsman and then made only its bones grow, and you seem too lacking to have killed a dragon older than me.
“…Do you not remember me?”
-I do not. If we met when I was the Magic Dragon, I personally apologize. My memories from that time are not intact.
The First Son did not answer and turned his gaze.
He looked down at the ruler of the East, standing between the vividly living dragon and the completely dead one.
“Father. You’ve come at a good time. I was just getting the hang of the Bone Dragon and was planning to visit you soon anyway.”
At the usual audacious, not-quite-a-provocation, the Family Head just smiled faintly.
“You must have gotten used to the Bone Dragon itself a while ago. Weren't you just late because you were trying to figure out how to wield the Bone Dragon and your sword together?”
“I won’t deny it.”
While the two were deep in conversation, I sat down on the Fire Dragon's head.
“It’s been a while, Older Brother.”
“Youngest.”
A sudden familiarity entered the gray eyes that were mostly filled with hostility when looking at his father.
“You have a knack for surprising people every time I see you.”
“I didn't do much. It was all thanks to Kairos here enduring the pain well.”
“Well. The dragon himself seems to feel a great deal of gratitude.”
-That's right.
As the Fire Dragon affirmed, the Bone Dragon once again approached without a sound.
“It seems you came to show off your strength, Youngest. Since you've come all the way to the Mujin Plains, how about you make me your opponent?”
I smiled.
“It seems to me that you are also looking for a test subject, Older Brother.”
“Is your heart not my heart?”
Just from their words, they sounded like affectionate brothers, but Ransis quietly moved behind the Family Head.
I dismissed the Ghost Ship and focused on the First Son.
The First Son also occasionally stroked the sword in his hand. Inside, he must have already thrown several slashes.
The brothers, each standing on their Bone Dragon and Fire Dragon, exchanged burning gazes over their smiles.
In the plains, where the phrase ‘the calm before the storm’ was fitting, the messenger added a comment to the Family Head.
“It has now become as you wished, Family Head.”
“Indeed.”
The corners of the Family Head's eyes lifted slightly from his usual expressionless face.
To the messenger, this meant he was greatly pleased, that his intentions had been well realized.
“The First Son and the Fifth Son have become catalysts for each other, and their rivalry is stimulating the rest of the blood relatives.”
“Is there any other news from the other children?”
“They have not taken a single step out of their own territories. It must be to build up their strength in preparation for the coming war and to eliminate unnecessary conflicts.”
“Report immediately as other changes occur. With the messenger gone, Wisdom will no longer hold back.”
The messenger nodded and added.
“Shall I also look into the Youngest Son's scheme that has made him unafraid of the war with Wisdom?”
“I think he's about to show us.”
The Family Head gestured lightly with his chin.
In that direction was I, holding something on top of the Fire Dragon's head.
What I held in my hand was the Dark Elixir. Something that everyone here knew, and that Wisdom in the West also knew.
But everyone who focused on my hand also noticed that something was different.
“…Youngest. That is.”
“A 2nd process Dark Elixir. It is our new weapon that will give us the upper hand in the war.”
Dalkak─
As if demonstrating, I opened the bottle's lid and brought it to my red lips.
The first thought that came to mind was that it was cold.
My head was slightly dizzy, and my body trembled faintly, as if I had gulped down ice water in one go.
Compared to before, the side effects were greatly reduced.
For anyone other than a skilled sorcerer, just adapting to the side effects would be a chore.
The blood relatives could drink it without any problems, but the sorcerers of other families could not.
However, the 2nd process Dark Elixir minimized such side effects and increased its effectiveness.
[A large amount of yin energy has entered the player's body.]
[If this state persists, you will be exposed to status abnormalities including hypothermia.]
[It is not the raw yin energy of nature, but a well-filtered yin energy that humans can accept.]
[There are no side effects after consumption.]
The systems also sent positive messages, certifying that the breath now coming out of my mouth was safe.
Furthermore, I had recently been able to do more with this kind of cold energy.
Dalgeurak─!
Jjeojeojeojeojeok─
My true Skeleton Soldier was created in mid-air, and an armor of ice formed over its exterior.
“…Have you learned Wisdom's magic?”
“I picked it up while interrogating a prisoner.”
The red ice was crude, but it became even harder with the assistance of the Dark Elixir's coldness. And that wasn't all.
Jjeojeojeok─
With another sound of ice freezing, a sword of ice, sculpted with Glacis, was grasped in the soldier's hand.
“Do you see? It suits our sorcery quite well.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“That if you have a high level of mastery in one field, you can take a low level of mastery from another field and build it on top of your own.”
The First Son twirled his gray blade.
“So. Are you telling me to learn magic or something?”
“Honestly, I would recommend it. It's not difficult to add this kind of ice armor on top of a soldier, and this is more your specialty than mine, Older Brother.”
The First Son neither agreed nor disagreed, mulling over my words.
“…You're right.”
“Yes. So if you come to Eclipse later, I’ll teach you ice─”
“Instead of separating the field of the Bone Dragon, I should add it on to my original field, the knight legion, to create a fusion. To build upon it like that. Isn't that what you're saying?”
Before I could answer no, the First Son nodded.
“It was good of you to test me by showing me something like magic, but I won't fall for it.”
“…Yes. Well.”
It seemed he wouldn't listen to anything more I said here.
What caught his interest here was the capability of the 2nd process Dark Elixir.
“Youngest. Show me. What can you do with that dragon?”
“Well. It's my first time working together with him, but I feel like we can do well.”
It wasn't the first time I had fought alongside a dragon, and besides, Kairos was my subordinate.
The reason fighting with dragons is difficult is because their high egos make them refuse to listen.
It's like fighting with a high-powered cannon, but that cannon moves on its own whim.
To prevent such a situation, one must either control a Bone Dragon like that, or earn a dragon's loyalty like this.
The First Son and I, both having brought the best-case scenarios, faced off for the first time in a while.
But his words still bothered me.
“‘Something like magic.’ Wisdom is a nuisance, but magic itself is a good tactic.”
On top of the Fire Dragon, which held a blood-red fire in its mouth, I floated blood-red ice.
The compatibility of fire and ice was the worst, but Bloodflame and ice of the Blood Attribute did no harm to each other.
That was why it was more comfortable, and I could even receive Kairos's support.
-Master. Use my magic. You can make much more unorthodox attacks than I can right now, so you should be able to wield a dragon's power for a moment.
‘If that's the case, I won't refuse.’
Through the hand placed on the Fire Dragon's head, I felt the ocean-like magic reserves innate to a dragon.
A shiver that made my hair stand on end ran down my spine. Because this was a feeling the Bone Dragon couldn't give.
A gray, dense fog rose from between the jaws of that ghostly dragon.
The First Son stood on top of it and used his sword tip as an aiming point.
“Then show me. I'm curious to see what kind of magic you've learned to act like this.”
“I’ll show you properly.”
The magic of a dragon, unleashed with the magic reserves of a dragon.
With one hand still on the scales, I raised the other hand into the air.
Then, I brought my thumb and middle finger together and once. I snapped my fingers.
Tak─
The friction of two fingers. The clear sound that spread from it.
What it brought forth landed shyly on the First Son's blade.
“…A red snowflake? How ridiculous.”
Shwaaaaaaaaaaaah─
As he snorted, a dense fog that was said to steal the energy of the living spread out.
“Ransis. Let's retreat. It will get annoying if we stay any longer.”
“I agree.”
Ransis grabbed the Family Head's wrist and pulled him into the ghost dimension.
The gray breath passed them by a narrow margin. However, it wasn't the fog they were trying to avoid.
The few red snowflakes that had just landed on the palm of his hand. Realizing that was a prelude, they retreated.
“I recommend you close your eyes. It's going to be quite cold.”
―――!!
As if in response to that warning, the red snowflake that had sat on the blade covered everything faster than the speed of thought.
In the red world, only the red dragon and the red Blood-eyes were not buried in the blood-colored snowdrift.
In between, I muttered.
“…It’s not an attack he'll fall for twice.”
Red Out had the power to bury even the First Son in snow, but it wouldn't be able to do so next time.
Because the snow, falling so heavily that it blurred the distinction between sky and ground, was literally just snow.
“If he knows beforehand, I wonder if the success rate would even be half.”
It was all the more so since I couldn't always share the dragon's magic reserves.
As I was contemplating various things about magic, Kairos spoke to me.
-It's not as cold as I thought. The color is different, but it's clearly the snow I saw until I was sick of it in the mountains.
“The properties of this snow and the properties of your heart are practically the same. They can't harm each other.”
-Convenient.
“It is, in a way.”
Of course, it wasn't for the First Son, who must be somewhere in that snowdrift.
That was why he would come charging out with his sword and Bone Dragon, his face a mix of surprise and anger.
“…Let's just go.”
-What?
Even Kairos, who didn't know much about human culture, asked back.
To bury his older brother in deep snow and then run away himself.
However, I was only composed.
“There's nothing to gain from bickering with my brother here. Let's just leave one gift.”
Leaving only the 2nd process Dark Elixir on the snowfield, the Fire Dragon and I quietly disappeared.
.
.
.
The plains, where the source of the magic had disappeared. The snow melted in an instant, and the First Son, who had been in the middle of it, finally stood up.
In his hand was the Dark Elixir his youngest brother had left behind.
“Y-Your Highness.”
Chief Secretary Luda took out a cloth to wipe his body and brushed off the snow.
“Are you alright?”
“My youngest brother teaches me time and again.”
“Y-yes?”
The gray eyes that had been staring at the Dark Elixir shifted to the sky where his youngest brother had disappeared.
“He used magic to an unreasonable extent, to the point where he couldn't even think about the ensuing battle, and then left only this and flew away.”
What could this mean? It was none other than concern for his older brother.
“‘Do not let your guard down against magic before the battle with Wisdom.’ Didn't he sacrifice himself to awaken me?”
“Umm….”
“The war my youngest brother started, victory will be ours.”
Chief Secretary Luda had many things he wanted to say, but he stopped, seeing that his lord seemed fine.