by Virlyce
“What is this?” Kondra asked as she sat up. Leila was healing Kondra, the jagged wounds on the matriarch’s neck stitching themselves back together. Leo, Luke, and Lulu were busy freeing her legs and tail from the phoenix matriarch’s net.
“This is Vur,” Grimmy said as he pulled Vur’s necklace off. It was dangling on one of the scales by his neck. The aura around Vur shuddered and dispersed, returning him back to a normal-looking, ocean-blue dragon. “He’s Nova’s grandson.” Grimmy glanced at the necklace, ignoring Kondra’s outraged expression. He passed it over to Lindyss and asked, “What did you make that out of? It’s neat.”
“A thousand souls,” Lindyss said as she placed the necklace into her pocket. She shrugged. “If I had better materials, I could’ve used more.”
“What is Nova’s grandson doing here?” Kondra asked, her face expressionless. “And why did he attack me?”
Vur shrank as he returned to his human form. He placed his hands on his hips and glanced at Tafel, who waved at Kondra from Grimmy’s head. “You hurt my wife.”
Kondra stared at Tafel. Then her gaze swiveled back onto Vur. “I guess I did. Sorry.”
“Whoa!” Luke said and released the orange net in his paw out of surprise. It snapped back into place, smacking Kondra’s leg. “Mom apologized!”
“The world’s ending?” Leo asked, his eyes wide. “I’m not ready yet; I don’t even have a girlfriend!”
Leila smacked both of their heads. “Stop being ridiculous,” she said and helped Lulu free Kondra’s remaining leg and tail. “The loser’s in the wrong. Even Mom knows that.”
Kondra sighed and hung her head. “I lost,” she said. “What do you want from me? My territory? My religious foundation?”
Lindyss coughed. “He already took both of those.”
Kondra froze. “Huh?”
Vur glanced at Grimmy. “What do I want from her?”
Grimmy’s eyes lit up. “How about this?” he asked and lowered his head. He cupped his claw around his mouth and whispered into Vur’s ear. He drew back and chuckled. “Your grandpa would greatly appreciate it.”
Vur’s head tilted. “Would he really?”
“Of course, of course,” Grimmy said, waving his claw around. “He’ll love it. I guarantee it. What’s with that look? Do you think I’d try to trick you? I’m not a fairy.”
Vur grunted.
“Before you ask,” Kondra said. “Can you tell me how you resisted my purifying light?”
“Purifying light?” Vur asked. “Wasn’t that just a flash spell? Flash doesn’t hurt people.”
“N-no,” Kondra said. “They have a similar side effect, but purifying light cleanses the pure-hearted and purges everything else.”
Tafel’s hand smacked her forehead as Vur looked at himself. Vur nodded. “I do feel a bit cleaner. It worked.”
“Y-you’re pure-hearted!?” Kondra shouted. “That’s impossible! You, you, you looked like the personification of evil when you attacked me!”
Lindyss placed her hand on Vur’s head and ruffled his hair. “This boy has never told a single lie in his life.”
Vur puffed his chest out while Kondra planted her face into the ground. “I made a mistake.”
Vur nodded. “Uh-huh. Now for my request, you—”
Kondra yelped as a black blob hit her forehead. Like a droplet of ink landing in a puddle of water, darkness spread along her silver scales, crawling down her head and neck. Before anyone reacted, half of Kondra’s body and wings had already turned black. A booming laugh escaped from her mouth. “I, Breeze, have succeeded! In my last life, I was a dragon-slayer, but in this life, I’ve become a dragon!”
36
“Hey,” Grimmy said, nudging Leila’s neck with his paw. “Looks like your mother got corrupted. Do you think her personality will improve? I’m thinking we should keep her this way.”
Leila rolled her eyes while Leo and Luke nodded their heads in agreement. Lulu glanced at her brothers, causing them to stiffen. Leila sighed. “My mom’s a teensy bit overbearing, stubborn, rash, fanatical, and self-righteous, but that’s what makes her my mom.”
“So we can’t keep her like this?” Luke asked. “I bet she wouldn’t nag me about sneaking out of the roost in her current state.”
Kondra, who was possessed by Breeze, coughed. “My host would like to inform you that she can still hear everything you’re saying and that all of you are going to be grounded as soon as I’m expelled,” Breeze said in Kondra’s voice. “But you don’t have to worry about that happening because I don’t plan on giving up my newfound body. Any last words, host?”
Kondra nodded in reply to her own question. Her head swiveled and landed on Vur. “Having defeated her and being the main cause of her downfall, the dragon matriarch wishes for you to free her from this curse of corruption. Completion of the quest will result in an increase in reputation with the holy dragons and one favor from the matriarch herself. As this is the main storyline quest, it may not be rejected. Lulu, show this righteous, pure-hearted dragon the reward tablet for prizes related to reputation amongst the holy dragons.”
Kondra scratched her head. “Those were some of the weirdest last words I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard a lot,” Breeze said in Kondra’s voice. “Well, there you go. I apologize for interrupting whatever meeting you dragons were having. I’ll be off now if you don’t mind.”
“Vur,” Lulu said, sticking her head next to Vur’s side. “I don’t have the tablet, but I guarantee you’ll have enough reputation for my mom to offer me to you as a mate. That’s a really good prize, right?” She nudged his side with her cheek. “Go on, what are you waiting for? Shoot her with that purifying light you just learned.”
“Get away from my husband, you giant lizard!” Tafel shouted. She ran up to Vur and hugged him from behind. She glared at Lulu. “You said you gave up!”
Lulu shrugged. “I gave up fighting you,” she said. A grin appeared on her face. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t convince him to leave you. Whom did Vur rely on during that last fight? Hmm? Hmmm? Oh, that’s right. It was me.”
Tafel ground her teeth together. “You, you….”
“Uh, guys,” Kondra said. “I’m really going to be leaving now. Is that okay?”
Leila placed her paw on Lulu’s head. “Did you fall for my nephew?”
“Your nephew!?” Lulu asked, sitting up straight. Her eyes widened at her sister. “That means he’s my nephew too! But we’re not related by blood, right? Right?”
“Well, no,” Leila said, “but—”
“Then that’s alright,” Lulu said and exhaled while patting her chest. “You scared me for a second.”
Leila raised one eyebrow and bit her lower lip. “You really fell for him?”
“What’s wrong with falling for me?” Vur asked, placing his hands on his hips. He snorted. “I’m handsome and cool. It’d be weirder if she didn’t.”
“Vur!” Tafel said, pinching his waist as she stepped in front of him. Her face was bright red, and she was glaring at him like an angry lioness.
Vur frowned and pried Tafel’s hand off his side. “What? It’s true,” he said. “I am handsome and cool.”
“That’s not the point!”
“Oh,” Vur said and scratched his head. “Then what was it? It’s not weird to fall for me since you love me too.”
“I…, you,” Tafel said before sighing. She hugged him and rested her chin on his shoulder. “Never mind. Only I can be your wife and mate, understand?”
“Huh? I already know that,” Vur said, hugging Tafel back. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at Lulu while Vur wasn’t looking. Leila stared blankly at the two heated gazes between her sister and the demon.
Kondra coughed twice. “So, uh, bye.” She looked around, but no one was paying attention. “Anyone? No one’s going to send me off? I need some validation here.”
“Hey, Breeze, was it?” Lindyss asked, walking up to Kondra’s face. “Do you
remember Vincent?”
“Vincent? Ah, yeah,” Kondra said and nodded. “He was a cool guy. Very strong. It’s a shame he was obsessed with a crazy witch. My lord, she was terrible. I thought….” Her voice trailed off upon seeing the aura rising out of Lindyss. Wailing souls and ghastly apparitions struggled to flee from the elf’s body, but they were sucked back into her skin by some unknown force. Kondra gulped. “Uh….”
Lindyss smiled as she rose off the ground until she was hovering at Kondra’s eyelevel. “Remember me?” she asked and raised her arms in a lifting motion. Out of her shadow, two clawed paws appeared. They pressed against her shadow’s sides and wrenched it open, pushing back the surrounding dragons as her shadow expanded to the size of a small lake. A skeletal head with sharp teeth emerged from the shadow with a groaning sound that sent shivers down everyone’s spines. The skeleton had a reptilian skull, a long neck, two pairs of bone wings, four tower-like legs, and a bony tail with spurs. The ground shook as the undead dragon scrabbled out of Lindyss’ shadow.
Kondra shrieked and retreated backwards by two steps. “It’s you! It’s really you! The undead! Stop summoning them!”
Lindyss smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her shadow widened even further as another three skeletal dragons crawled out of it, each more imposing than the last. A fifth undead dragon emerged with glowing black runes decorating its bones. Its eye sockets glowed with a blue light, and it grinned upon seeing Kondra. A tongue made of darkness ran over its lipless teeth as it flew into the air, supported by dense, black clouds of mana underneath its skinless wings.
“You! You think I’m scared of you?” Kondra screamed as she flew into the air. She roared. “I’m a dragon now!” Mana from the surroundings surged towards her, and her wings glowed with a black and white light. She shouted, “See if you can block my attack!”
Vur placed Tafel behind himself, ready to defend her from any aftershocks. The four siblings huddled next to Grimmy while the phoenixes flew away and hid behind their mother, who was approaching the battlefield. Lindyss flew onto the runic skeletal dragon’s skull and crossed her arms over her chest.
The mana accumulating around Kondra’s wings grew in intensity, forcing Tafel to cover her eyes. Kondra let out an earth-shattering roar. “Mighty dragon charge!” she shouted as she lunged and … flew away from Lindyss as fast as she could.
Lindyss glanced at Vur and Grimmy. “I’ll be right back. Stay here.” She patted her mount’s skull, and all the bone dragons chased after Kondra.
Grimmy scratched his snout before grinning at Lulu, Leo, and Luke. “She’s the best blessed warrior of light out there, don’t you agree?”
The three holy dragons nodded their heads dumbly as Kondra’s screams and whimpers reached their ears. “Not the face! Not the face! This is why I hate the undead!”
“You know,” Tafel said, staring off into the distance. “I’ve always heard stories about Auntie, but now I realize just how true they were. Those were undead dragons she just summoned, right?”
Grimmy nodded. “They’re just husks though,” he said. “Their souls rejected her call and refused to come back. I vaguely remember her using a family of wyverns to fill each skeleton.”
Screams came from the distance along with the sounds of crashing trees and shattering rocks. Faint voices, which suspiciously sounded like a wife berating her husband, drifted over during the lulls of the battle. Less than five minutes later, the area fell silent—only sobs could be heard. Footsteps approached the group of dragons, phoenixes, and Vur from the trees, revealing Lindyss, who was dusting off her hands. On her head, Erin was sitting as still as a statue, her eyes wide open and red from not blinking for an extended period of time. Moments later, Kondra appeared behind Lindyss, her tails and wings dragging against the ground as she walked. Her silver head was lowered, but her eyes would glance at Lindyss every so often before staring at the ground again. All signs of possession were gone, but she was shivering nonstop despite having no injuries.
“Mom?” Leila asked. “Are you alright?”
Kondra let out a whimpering sound in response. She placed her head on the ground and covered her eyes with her paws, her tails and wings curling up into a ball.
“Vur,” Lindyss said with a smile. She held out a quivering, black, jelly-like substance. “Eat this.”
Vur stared at the blob in Lindyss’ palm and swallowed. The blob was wriggling as if it were trying to run away. A shiver ran down Vur’s spine, and he raised his head to meet Lindyss’ gaze. “What is it?”
“A potato.”
“…”
Vur’s gaze returned to the “potato” in Lindyss’ hand. “No, it’s not.”
Lindyss took a step forward, causing Vur to take two steps back. “It’s a rare kind of potato.”
“D-dragons don’t eat potatoes,” Vur said, taking another step back as the blob in Lindyss’ hand let out a sobbing sound. Bubbles rose to the surface of the “potato” and burst with a popping noise, releasing streams of black gas.
Lindyss frowned and grasped the wisps of gas with her mana, forcing them back into the blob. She mushed the blob around until it was in the shape of a T-bone steak. All kinds of gases and fumes shot out of the substance during the process, permeating the air. “It’s steak.”
“I’m not hungry.” Vur gulped and hid behind Tafel before pinching his nose. The dragons and phoenixes were covering their noses as well, and Leo had directly fainted from the smell with froth coming out of his mouth. Tafel’s face paled, but she spread her arms out to the side and took a step forward.
“I, I won’t let you feed that to Vur,” Tafel said and wet her dry lips with her tongue.
“Why not?” Lindyss asked in a coy voice, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t trust me?”
Tafel swallowed, her face turning red. “You’re, you’re not the one who has to kiss him later.” She pinched her nose as Lindyss took another step forward, the fumes from the “steak” invading her senses. Tafel’s vision spun as her stomach churned and bile built up in her throat.
Lindyss hummed and tore off a tiny piece of the blob before smiling at Tafel. Before the demon could react, Lindyss’ palm was pressed against her mouth, shoving the slimy substance down Tafel’s throat with the help of magic. Tafel’s eyes bulged as her face turned red, and she clawed at her neck before her eyes rolled up, revealing their whites. Then she crumpled to the ground like a wet noodle.
Vur lunged forward and shouted, “Ta”—Lindyss appeared in front of him and forced the blob into his mouth—“feguhk!?” His reaction was similar to Tafel’s, collapsing onto the ground in a quivering, groaning heap.
Lindyss dusted off her hands, making sure there was no residue on her palms. She rolled Vur and Tafel over onto their sides before squishing their cheeks a few times. “These brats thinking they can defy me.” She raised her head and smiled at the surrounding dragons and phoenixes. “They’ll be fine.”
“You’re … not a blessed warrior of light,” Kondra said, peering at Lindyss through a crack in her paws. Goosebumps dotted her scales as Lindyss let out a laugh.
“Whatever do you mean?” Lindyss asked, a halo appearing over her head while a glowing sword emerged from her palm. “Look. Classic blessed-warrior equipment.”
The phoenix matriarch nudged Leila. “Has your mother ever been afraid of anything?” she whispered, covering her beak with her wing.
“She’s terrified of gaining weight, but that’s about it,” Leila whispered back, covering her mouth with her paw. “I wonder what that little cursed elf did to her.” She poked Lindyss’ back with her claw. “How’d you traumatize my mom?”
“Traumatize?” Lindyss asked, her eyes widening. She brought her hand to her mouth and gasped. “I would never.” Her hand lowered, and her eyes gleamed as she smiled at Kondra. “I merely fulfilled her righteous quest. Isn’t that right, matriarch?”
Kondra whimpered and glanced at Lulu. “What did you say the reward was?” she a
sked before staring at Lindyss’ feet. “If you’d like, you can have Lulu as a mate. I’m going home.” She whirled around and flew into the air before anyone could respond. Fat tears fell from her face, dropping onto the ground around the city, causing holy light and angelic voices to appear wherever they landed.
Lindyss’ mouth fell open, and she scratched her head. “She ran away just like that?” she asked. “I wasn’t done playing with her. If I knew she was this easy to bully from the start, I wouldn’t have had to put up with so much nonsense for the past three months.” She looked around, her gaze falling onto Lulu.
“I don’t swing that way!” Lulu shouted and covered her chest with her front paws. Her silver face flushed bright pink, and she scrambled behind her sister.
Lindyss’ expression darkened. “You think I do?”
“So that’s why,” Grimmy said with a laugh. He grinned. “You were single for over a few hundred years. It turns out you actually liked women.”
“I’m straight, dammit!” Lindyss said, throwing a lightning bolt at Grimmy’s face. She huffed before slinging Vur and Tafel over her shoulders and jumped into the air, transparent wings appearing on her back.
The dragons and phoenixes watched the trio leave. Minerva let out a cough. “I came here for a party.”
***
“So Vur was throwing a party mostly for Tafel’s birthday. I see,” Lindyss said. She was standing in front of a massive white cake covered in frosting, fruit, and sprinkles. E was sitting next to her, held up by an armor set. “And he’s planning on skipping his coronation and giving Tafel the unified continent as a birthday present. Amazing. Only Vur would give away a continent as a present.” Lindyss sighed and shook her head.
There was a knock on the door, causing E and Lindyss to turn around. The metal door swung open, and cold mist rushed out of the room. Mr. Skelly shivered as he stepped inside, followed by Alice. “Whew,” Mr. Skelly said, tilting his neck to see the top of the cake. “Awfully chilly in here, isn’t it?”
