Chapter 47 - 46: Returning to Old Ways
At the same time, at the Katjana volcano crater.
Dragon Mother Pafila was lounging in the lava pool—which had expanded many times its original size due to the volcanic eruption—enjoying the snacks tossed to her by her Silver Dragon daughter from the cliff. Suddenly, she paused, squinting in the direction of the ongoing ’Fury of the Flaming Dragon.’ A schadenfreude-infused smile spread across her face.
"I knew that old hag was up to no good," she muttered. "Good thing I have a son to take the hit."
If she had, at the time, out of her draconic greed or mere curiosity, decided to keep that Dragon God’s blessing for herself... she’d probably be the one furiously stomping around right now, staring at an empty Dragon Nest treasury. But at least her Dragon God had kept his promise to her: he hadn’t installed any faith-based backdoor in that Dragon God’s blessing. This meant that as long as David didn’t actively invoke Tiamat’s name, the Evil Dragon Mother couldn’t directly contact him and thereby seduce him into becoming one of her followers. As long as this bottom line was maintained, it was an outcome Pafila could accept. She didn’t want her offspring to meaninglessly repeat her own past mistakes, even if she, Pafila, was an Evil Dragon through and through, in every sense of the word.
"Oh no, it’s coming from the direction of my brother’s nest! I need to check it out," Tania said. She, too, had noticed the sudden change in the sky and thought her unlucky brother had attracted disaster again. She tensed her legs, about to take off.
"Come back here. Your mother isn’t full yet," Pafila, now akin to an oversized Hatchling, said, pointing at her unchanged belly with the tip of her tail.
"But..." Tania, who had become a Silver Dragon mother at such a young age, was on the verge of tears.
"No need to worry about your brother. He’s over there playing with the new toy I bought him," Dragon Mother assured her, her face serious.
"Huh?" Tania was completely dumbstruck.
This near-apocalyptic scene... that was her brother playing? But on second thought, although this sudden wildfire was massive, for Red Dragons who are essentially immune to fire, it seemed... possibly... not that big a deal?
Just as a skeptical Tania was about to turn back and continue feeding her Dragon Mother Dragon Food, Pafila raised her head slightly.