Chapter 172: Side Story 9 |
The Red Dragon was right.
As soon as Drea entered the sanctuary, dragons that were hardly seen outside rushed in, swarming around her.
Drea clenched her jaw and puffed out her chest, not wanting to show any signs of nervousness.
She opened her eyes wide, glaring at the dragons of various colors and magical powers that were rushing towards her.
Moreover, these dragons had the appearance of their true dragon forms, not in human form, so they were much larger than Drea, barely reaching their ankles.
“What’s this? Not a human… A kid! Could it be a White Dragon? Yeah, a real White Dragon!”
“Look at this kid! Surviving so boldly!”
“Kid! How did you get into the sanctuary? Who told you?”
“What? White, you say? White?!”
‘Incredible.’
Dragons that were almost impossible to encounter in a lifetime in the outside world had gathered, and that too right after Drea set foot in the sanctuary.
“Kid! Don’t just glare at us, say something! How did you get in? Huh? Who told you about this place?”
The dragon that approached Drea had a deep green skin tone.
Among the gathering dragons, it was the largest in size, and its voice was so powerful that it made Drea, who was still in her human form, feel pain in her eardrums.
Drea revealed her wings, which had grown quite a bit behind her shoulders.
She even extended her claws, which she usually kept hidden above her wing bones.
As the green dragon approached, laughing, it said:
“No, no, this kid is really on edge. Well… normally we make a bit of a commotion for a welcoming ceremony as soon as someone enters. Did you hear that too?”
The green dragon, still chuckling, spread its wings wide.
The other approaching dragons also spread their wings in response to the green dragon’s gesture.
At that moment, currents of different powers exploded from the dragons’ bodies.
Matching their colors, they spewed columns of wind, water, fire, and more. Startled, Drea swiftly transformed her body to respond.
Due to her extreme tension, every scale on her small body trembled.
“Welcome to the sanctuary, little whitey!”
That was the moment.
With a resounding voice, pillars of water, wind, fire, light, and lightning gathered around her.
‘…Remember, it’s an elemental battle! Elemen-tal bat-tle!
At that moment, Drea recalled the warning from the Red Dragon, who had informed her of the sanctuary’s location.
Elemental battle!
A gleam of light sparked in Drea’s eyes.
Soon, water, fire, wind, lightning, and light elements converged around Drea, forming pillars of elements that rushed towards her.
‘The White with Omni-Elemental Affinity.’
The only dragon capable of freely manipulating the power of all five elements.
It was the power of the little White Dragon, harnessing the forces of the five dragons.
Startled, the dragons that had been conjuring magical pillars retracted their powers.
In that instant, Drea’s magic, which had been striking the elemental pillars, traced back the power of the elements and flew out.
In the blink of an eye, the power of each element struck the dragons’ heads, making a thudding sound.
Drea’s power struck the heads of the five dragons accurately—one was hit by lightning, one was soaked in water, and one was smacked by the wind.
As if teasing them and ending up being smacked, the five dragons stood frozen in their places with stunned expressions.
Several seconds passed like that.
“…Hahaha!”
The green dragon, who had been hit first, burst into laughter.
Soon, the other dragons, whose appearances had become a mess, started looking at each other and laughing.
“Oh my, what an amusing kid!”
The green dragon then threw off its true form and transformed into a human, approaching Drea.
Since Drea was still in her growth stage, even in her true form, she was slightly larger than an adult human, making the height difference just right.
‘Oops!’
As the approaching green dragon, Drea, sent a gust of wind towards him.
The staggering green dragon’s body spun around and crashed far away.
With his body stuck in a tree, the green dragon laughed.
‘He must be crazy.’
Drea fell into contemplation. It was the first time she encountered someone who was okay with being hit.
“Oh no~! This little one has been tormenting our friends. Revenge!”
“Hehehe!”
Soon, the Red Dragon and the Gold Dragon also transformed into humans and approached Drea.
Drea sent lightning bolts and fire pillars towards them as well.
The two dragons, who had instantly been engulfed in flames, burst into laughter and, with their burning hair, dashed towards Drea.
“You dare send fire pillars at me! This brat has really pissed me off!”
“Let’s devour her!”
‘These dragons must have gone crazy together!’
Drea retreated while alternately shooting fire and water, and shouting.
Without actually charging at Drea or launching any magical attacks, the five dragons spun around Drea, playing and teasing her without a moment’s rest.
“Eating roasted White Dragon supposedly increases magical power?”
“It must be delicious! Should we start from her toes?”
“Hiiiik! Go away!”
Thud! Crash! Thud!
Bang! Crunch!
Drea was hit by several random spells they cast, while some she managed to dodge, and the dragons launched themselves towards her.
‘Oh no, I might actually get devoured… No, I have to bring flowers to Shaik…!’
Startled, Drea crouched and unleashed her magic explosively.
Kwaaaaah!
The force was different from before.
The magical items given by the Simon all responded simultaneously, and the bracelet from Kalia, the Amunthia, also reacted to Drea’s magic.
“What… what’s happening! What’s going on!”
Various powers stormed fiercely in that spot.
Gaia, who had suddenly emerged, quickly noticed Drea, who was radiating power, and pulled her into an embrace.
“Eeeeeeek!”
“Oh my, looks like Lux is gone!”
“Hey, you little rascals, I told you to play nicely!”
The dragons, caught in the storm of power, struggled to escape from the storm, using all their strength while transforming into their true forms.
“What’s wrong with those stubborn dragons…”
Gaia looked up at the five dragons with a furrowed brow and comforted Drea, who was trembling in her arms.
“Drea, are you okay?”
“Gaia?”
Drea, with teary eyes, looked up at Gaia and immediately hugged her tightly.
“I’m okay, but those men, they kept trying to devour me together… Sob, sob. But it was so scary. Even when I attacked them, they came charging with their heads on fire…”
Drea was usually braver than anyone else, but the sight of dragons rushing towards her in an attacking manner felt extremely eerie to the child.
And to make matters worse, it wasn’t just one or two dragons, but five.
As Drea settled into Gaia’s embrace, the storm of magical power subsided.
Gaia gently comforted Drea, assuring her that everything was fine.
At that moment, several more dragons could be seen flying and playing in the distance.
It appeared as if they were flying towards a massive storm visible even from afar.
‘…This is bad.’
Gaia wondered if he could take Drea into the realm of spirits through the gate.
Opening the gate to the Dragon’s Sanctuary, located within the dimensional boundaries, wasn’t an easy task.
Two different waves were interfering with each other, making it difficult.
“Who is causing such a commotion?”
The first one to arrive asked.
It was an elderly woman who seemed to have reached a ripe old age.
Even in her humanized form, her power was undoubtedly ominous.
Gaia sensed that this old woman was no less powerful than her parents.
‘She’s strong. She might be the leader of this group.’
Gaia, tense with anticipation, found an opportunity to open the gate as he hugged Drea tightly.
“…A fairy? Hmm, no. I sense divine power. Is she a spirit reborn through the power of the gods?”
The old woman approached Gaia with a leisurely gait.
Her gaze shifted from Gaia to the young dragon looking intently at her from Gaia’s embrace.
Her eyes widened.
“A white dragon, huh? Where did this white one come from? How could such a little thing survive so impressively?”
Surviving as a White Dragon was already difficult due to their scarce numbers.
The elderly dragon, who was well aware of this, looked at the white dragon nestled in Gaia’s arms with admiration and curiosity.
Drea, wiping her teary eyes with the back of her hand, suddenly stood up.
Startled, Gaia grabbed hold of Drea’s hand.
As if to reassure Gaia, Drea tightly grasped his hand and opened her mouth.
“Is the queen here?”
“…Queen? Well, there isn’t one here. However, she could be considered the oldest dragon within the sanctuary. These guys do respect her and treat her accordingly.”
Her gaze swept over Drea, who was teasing the five dragons, causing them to become flustered and whistle in response.
“Tsk tsk. Were those naïve ones bothering you again, claiming it was some kind of welcome ceremony? So, they caused that storm?”
“…Those old men were just trying to catch and eat me. But even when I resisted and attacked them, they still came charging at me, even getting struck by lightning! It was completely strange!”
Drea couldn’t help but blurt out everything at once.
Since that old lady seemed to be the boss, now was the chance.
Drea’s statement caused the five dragons to flinch and shout.
“No, we weren’t really trying to eat you. We thought you were cute…!”
“Enough. Let’s talk later.”
“…Ah, Lady Deme!”
“Yes, you. How long has it been since you were born? Looks like you haven’t even reached 20 years…”
“I’m nine years old!”
“Oh, I see. You’re only nine, yet you already know how to use magic so skillfully. Your imprinter must be quite remarkable.”
“Yes! Shaik is amazing. Very cool, strong, and pretty!”
Upon hearing Drea’s excited words, the old woman let out a laugh as if finding it adorable.
Soon, her gaze turned towards Gaia, who was tightly holding Drea’s hand.
“By the way… What about the spirit next to you?”
“Gaia is my family! Our family!”
“Family? Oh, little one, dragons and spirits can’t be family.”
“No, it’s true! Besides Gaia, there’s Kalexia, Leah, and also Kalia Mama. They are our family.”
“Kale… xia?”
The wrinkles on the old woman’s forehead slightly creased.
She even shook her head as if finding it unbelievable.
“…You’re not talking about the Fairy King, are you?”
‘…Did I say something I shouldn’t have?’
Drea sensed the subtle change in the old woman’s expression and closed her mouth, as if understanding something.
The old woman, or rather Demetri, the dragon who had lived for over a thousand years, paused for a moment, as if contemplating.
Deme took a step closer, aligning her gaze with Drea’s, and bent her knee, opening her mouth in a gentle voice.
“Little one, would you like to come and live here?”
“What? Why?”
“Because you’re a dragon. Fairies hate and despise dragons.”
“…That’s not true. Drea has lived loved by fairies.”
“Well, in that case, I’m glad. But the fact that our race lives with other races makes me a little concerned. So, I would prefer if you lived here.”
Drea hesitated.
It wasn’t because she was enticed by the offer.
It was just that, for a brief moment, she imagined a life away from Shaik, Kalia, and the noisy fairies, and it felt strange.
Drea shook her head vigorously.
“No, I don’t want to. I like it there.”
“Oh… Is it because of your imprinter? If that’s the case, what if I get rid of that human for you? I can give you a new mark.”
Both Gaia and Drea were startled, their eyes widening.
W-Who would she get rid of?
