Chapter 576: 54. Before That
The dim moonlight slanted down, echoing the candlelight from a room within the Blessing Tower’s royal court, illuminating the heavy rolls of paper sprawled or stacked on the desk and making the blue-haired girl’s face, who was gravely staring at the paper, exceptionally clear.
This girl is Jasmine, a member of the Whale Folk who has been at the Dragon Court for over a few years.
“Um…”
On either side of her long blue hair, two slender black ears fluttered slightly, stirring up a bit of cool air but unable to dispel the thick fatigue on her face.
As a priestess of the Red Dragon Court, she had many matters to handle, especially now with the battle approaching. Although there are many officials like Mill to assist, many trivial yet critical things need Jasmine to implement and supervise.
All these tasks will be handed over to Emray, the leader of the Bats Clan, and his wife, who are people that Raphael trusts greatly. They have been with Raphael to establish the New Dragon Court for five years.
Jasmine learns quickly; in just a few months, she has completely mastered the Dragon Court language, being able to read, write, and converse fluently.
The work at hand was nearing completion, and the time for deployment was drawing closer, making Jasmine feel a bit uneasy—although she hadn’t privately met with Raphael since Fisher returned, the affairs of the Dragon Court continued to flow through official documents, so she was very aware of Raphael and the Red Dragon Court’s upcoming plans.
She couldn’t help but recall the war from two and a half years ago—the frenzied gales, the seemingly invincible enemy, the human general Barbatos.
Unlike Raphael, Jasmine had been by Xu’s side since childhood. Though Xu was not an outstanding educator and couldn’t explain many things in simple terms, being under the influence of a demigod, Jasmine could distinctly feel the difference between her mother and other beings.
Mythical.
She was indeed aware of this concept, knowing that Fisher had already reached the mythical rank, while she, having left the ocean to protect him from falling into the vortex of destruction, could never see the threshold of mythical being.
She did not possess her mother’s talents.
So what talents did she have?
Did she have none at all?
Jasmine fell into a daze, staring at the now cold tea in the wooden cup beside her. After a moment of silence, she stepped back slightly, lifting her overly broad chest from the desk, giving it a slight bounce.
She felt a bit lost, staring blankly at the water in the cup until, after a long while, she spoke softly, calling out,
“Lord Ramastia.”
“…”
But unsurprisingly, Ramastia still did not reply to her. For several years, the consciousness of Lord Ramastia had not left the ocean. If she wanted to contact Him again, it seemed Jasmine would have to return to the Deep Sea.
However, if that was the case, Xu would certainly discover her, and whether she could return afterward was uncertain.
Moreover, given Jasmine’s current stagnation, she would likely be caught and taken back by Xu before doom arrived.
“Um, what should I do?”
“What do you mean, what to do?”
“How should I… ugh?”
Jasmine rubbed her temple and instinctively replied, but then she realized something and hastily looked toward the door, just in time to see a fiery figure illuminated by the faint candlelight.
At her room’s entrance stood Raphael, dressed in a new black formal gown. Her claws rested on the doorframe, and she had not yet stepped into Jasmine’s room but seemed to be waiting outside.
Jasmine quickly stood up, looking in disbelief at Raphael at the door.
Perhaps it was the defeat from their previous confrontation, the guilt of secretly meeting with Fisher, or maybe a bit of joy from reuniting after such a long time?
At this moment, Jasmine found herself feeling quite constrained, even though she was in her own room.
“R-Raphael, you’re here?”
“Um, may I come in, Jasmine?”
“Of course.”
Raphael smiled slightly and entered Jasmine’s office. Facing the night wind from the window, her rose-colored long hair was blown back gently, swaying slightly.
On the candlestick beside her, there were many unlit candles. Raphael noticed and asked,
“Why not light the candles?”
“When we’re in the ocean, we don’t need much light. I’ve grown accustomed to it.”
“Won’t it be too dark like this?”
Raphael stretched out her two fingers over the candles, rubbing them slightly. The heat that erupted set the candles ablaze, lighting up the other extinguished candles, slowly banishing the shadows in the room and illuminating Jasmine’s face not far away.
Jasmine shivered slightly but followed the glow, clearly seeing the visage of the dragon girl before her.
Raphael’s appearance was just as bright and fiery as when they first met, illuminating everything in the room like the ignited candles.
Unlike Jasmine, who was staring at Raphael, the slowly approaching Raphael first noticed the various official documents from the Dragon Court laid out on her desk.
Upon seeing the documents, Raphael halted in her steps. After a moment of pause, she began to speak about something else.
“I took Fisher to meet my mother earlier.”
Jasmine was momentarily startled at her words, then bit her lip but said nothing, merely silently waiting for Raphael’s next words.
Raphael noticed Jasmine’s silence. Her emerald green eyes reflected no surprise, only continuing with her speech,
“Jasmine, you’re from outside the Dragon Court, and logically, everything here should not concern you, but…”
“…Raphael, are you trying to send me away?”
Raphael looked at Jasmine, her expression showing some unexpected surprise, but then she shook her head and smiled,
“How could that be? You have always been my good friend. Besides, I mean, the matters of the Dragon Court shouldn’t concern you, but you’ve been helping me all these years. Without your support, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m very grateful for you and respect your friendship. I don’t blame you regarding the Fisher matter, Jasmine.”
“If blame is to be placed, it can only be on him for being a sentimental Nali, on me for not being competent enough or having the guts to claim him solely for myself. You’ve previously shared many of your feelings concerning your teacher with me; I know full well his kindness in rescuing you from danger. I believe you can understand that the respect and understanding between him and me should not be overlooked. We just didn’t expect to care for the same person, leading to the awkward situation we have now.”
Jasmine felt somewhat embarrassed, lowering her head. The nearby candlelight flickered, casting trembling shadows over both their faces.
“Raphael, I…”
“I took Fisher to meet my mother because I didn’t want him to have any regrets. I wanted to convey my feelings for him and didn’t want my suitable tail partner to be just my one-sided sentiment while deceiving both my parents and ancestors. If possible, I even wanted to hold a wedding with him to publicize everything between us, but you know, given the current situation of the Dragon Court, that’s no longer feasible. Barbatos and his army are coming south soon; his terrifying power from two and a half years ago still impresses me to this day. Honestly, I also don’t know how to confront him.”
Raphael raised her claw, covered in scales, which was slightly trembling, as if her muscles recalled the pain of being shattered in the face of that terrifying enemy.
Even under Jasmine’s healing and the passage of time, Raphael’s wounds were healed now, but that dreadful power had ingrained itself into her heart, causing her to shudder at the mere thought of it.
Could it be that this so-called “Dragon Queen” was indeed scared, intimidated by an enemy?
Not really. If she were truly terrified, she wouldn’t be able to show composure in front of the Dragon Court, her family, and Fisher, even if that composure was just a façade.
However, the overwhelming power, like a yawning chasm, was undeniable. According to Fisher, she hadn’t even seen the door to “mythical” when facing an existence of the eighteen ranks within; this disparity in strength was something anyone would feel.
Demons.
So that was what the legendary demons were.
Raphael didn’t understand why demons would collude with humans and those puppets, but there were no such questions on the battlefield. Since they were enemies, the only thing Raphael could think of was how to defeat them.
But after pondering, there was no feasible method, which was why Raphael felt so helpless.
Jasmine noticed Raphael’s trembling hand. She was also a witness to that war and was the one who saved the severely injured Raphael; of course, she understood what kind of existence they were facing.
Once again, her thoughts turned to her mother.
As a child, her mother had told her that when she was not yet of mythical rank, she once fought with an angel of a mythical being, battling in the sea until both were exhausted. Although she was left severely injured, lying on the ocean floor for a long time, she said she was very excited at that time; even in defeat, she did not feel a sense of defeat but rather wished to heal and return to fight the angel again.
As it turned out, before her injuries healed, her father had already taken her revenge, something that bothered her quite a bit.
So even when her mother later encountered enemies far stronger than that angel, she always felt those battles under the sea were more thrilling.
And what about herself?
When faced with such a mythical being, she had only thought to flee!
Although from the hindsight perspective, the choice to escape with the injured Raphael was wise and simply managing to escape was a stroke of luck.
But Jasmine knew clearly that it was not a rational decision weighed against pros and cons, but rather an overwhelming fear from her soul.
At that moment, she could only think of fleeing, terrified that she didn’t even dare to glance at the opponent, running with her mind completely blank, only remembering the frantic escape.
It was almost the complete opposite of her mother.
Jasmine didn’t know how to comfort Raphael; she bit her lip and merely said,
“Those existences are demon species; I just don’t know why they escaped from the Demon Dynasty. But earlier, wasn’t Fisher saying he had…”
Jasmine’s voice trailed off, and she cautiously glanced at Raphael. According to reason, she shouldn’t let Raphael know about the secret meetings with Fisher, including the part where Fisher said he would handle those two demons, as that would expose everything.
Yet Raphael only looked at Jasmine for a moment before not dwelling on their secret meetings.
Perhaps it was because she had heard Jasmine’s movements earlier while pretending to sleep this morning, reassured that nothing bad would come of their meetings, or perhaps because Raphael’s feelings for Jasmine were already deep enough that in this moment alone with her sister, she wouldn’t scrutinize her partner of four and a half years.
In fact, if counted by the time spent together, Jasmine had been at Raphael’s side much longer than Fisher.
It’s just a pity that sentimental matters cannot merely be measured by the length of time.
How many people become restless only due to a fleeting glimpse, forever harboring a shadow in their hearts; and how many, even when together night and day, each has their own hidden agendas?
Although the time spent with Fisher was brief, it was simply too stunning. If Fisher didn’t have the flaw of being fickle, Raphael might have even felt it was insufficient to document their feelings, no matter how long an account they could write.
Surely it was the same for Jasmine; when she first left the ocean, naive and entangled in a dangerous situation due to her family, facing the threat of total loss, Fisher became an inseparable part of her life.
Jasmine’s words faltered, but Raphael already understood her meaning and shook her head, saying,
“I am, of course, willing to believe Fisher; even if he himself feels that he can’t match Barbatos. He said there’s not just one demon like Barbatos, there’s also another one who sent that human reporter—Ag.”
“And… another one?”
“Yeah, I can’t even imagine how terrifying it would be to face such existences. I believe Fisher may already have a way to deal with them. After all, with his character, he wouldn’t casually say he would address such an issue without some idea in mind.”
“So, what is Raphael worried about?”
Raphael hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at her,
“I’m worried about the methods he may use.”
“…Methods?”
“Um, whenever I think about Fisher helping me, sometimes I have nightmares about things… I don’t quite remember the specifics of the dreams. I forgot what I saw, but I still recall the feelings I had in the dream, that sense of unease and fear. I don’t know if it’s due to those powerful demons or my doubts about him.”
Raphael paused for several seconds before adding her unfinished thoughts,
“I trust his feelings for both you and me, but I suspect he might make reckless decisions under pressure to save us, using improper and dangerous methods. If so, the price he pays will be something I cannot accept; even if he truly defeats the demons in the end, I would feel it is unjust for him.”
“What kind of methods would he use? Have you asked, Raphael?”
“I’ve asked, but it’s all very vague. He just said he will go to the Demon Dynasty, the lair of those demons, where they escaped from. But I don’t believe that merely relying on this method will avoid a confrontation with them. After all, those demons serving Elizabeth in the human Allied Forces is already very strange; there must be other secrets we don’t know about.”
“The Demon Dynasty.”
“Yeah, I don’t know where that place is, but I’ve heard Chief Erem mention before that demons reside deep underground.”
“So, what does Raphael hope Fisher would do? Do you want him to give up helping you? That’s simply impossible, and I wouldn’t be able to accept it. If the war fails…”
“He certainly will not agree, Jasmine. In a few days, I will be leading the army to the front lines. He will surely set out too. I still have matters at the front to attend to, and you, Jasmine, I hope you can accompany him to the Demon Dynasty.”
“Wait, me?”
Jasmine instantly became nervous, looking at Raphael, fearing this was her way of testing her, but when she looked up, she saw only the side profile of Raphael.
She stood against the candlelight, her emerald green eyes shining brightly.
“Yeah, you.”
Jasmine shrank back a little and whispered,
“I thought… Raphael cared about me and…”
“Um, I do care.”
“Then why…”
“But there’s no other way. I’m afraid this place may be my end.”
Raphael shook her head, looking out the window at the Dragon Court, which now had a moment of calm before what seemed like a violent storm, quietly spoke to Jasmine,
“We both know the situation in this upcoming war. Even without those two demons, because of the defeat two and a half years ago, our strength has significantly decreased, and in terms of troops, we are far less than the false court and the humans, let alone the Nali behind them. Even if our abilities far exceed ordinary beings, we cannot compete with demons. Thus, I have to think about what comes after a potential failure.
“When I retreated in defeat back then, many ethnic groups took their families and fled with me to this corner. If I were to fail again, I would have no face to abandon them along with Fisher and my family and take flight. I will die here, buried with my soldiers. But you are different, Jasmine; you are not originally a subhuman of the Dragon Court; you can leave freely, which serves as my reassurance.
“Though I still feel uneasy, I prefer to entrust Fisher to you over the likes of Elizabeth. I want you to accompany him into the Demon Dynasty, to stop him when he is forced to make wrong decisions due to me and the Dragon Court, to prevent him from paying the price. Then even if we fail, you can take him and my mother away from here.”
Jasmine bit her lip, feeling Raphael’s intentions to yield. Yet she felt no joy; gritting her teeth, after hesitation, she looked out at the ocean beyond the Dragon Court and then said,
“I will go seek my mother to help us.”
Raphael just looked at her quietly before shaking her head, saying to her,
“You’ve told me before; your promise with your mother is that someone as strong as her would certainly feel pity for your identity, but that concern is for your safety. Returning to seek your mother, aside from never being able to come back, she won’t agree to anything. Don’t do something foolish, Jasmine.”
Jasmine tightened her grip on the hem of her priestess robe. At that moment, she wished she had her mother’s strength.
She might even wish that Raphael would quarrel with her again over Fisher as before and wouldn’t speak so calmly about her arrangements and plans, as if it were some sliding track of fate, leaving her to helplessly watch it slide into the abyss.
“Then it’s settled, Jasmine. Remember what I’ve said, and I leave these matters to you.”
Raphael smiled gently, then turned her body to look at her, certainly noticing her hesitation and unwillingness. After a moment’s hesitation, Raphael gently took Jasmine’s hand, enveloping her cool skin in her warmth.
“Raphael, there may be other ways, Fisher…”
“I hope so too. However, if I survive, you and Fisher will be in trouble.”
“Raphael, you know I…”
Raphael gently squeezed Jasmine’s hand, cutting off the rest of her words, then she finally said,
“…Thank you, Jasmine.”
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(This chapter is complete)
