第608章 86. Myth (9k, Two-in-One)
Raphael had always felt an extremely uneasy sensation in her heart.
Perhaps it was when the Human Allied Forces launched a full-scale assault on the Dragon Court Army, or perhaps even earlier, back when Fisher and Jasmine left the Dragon Court for the so-called “Demon Dynasty,” that she had started feeling this way.
This uneasy feeling intensified when she scanned the opposing military formation but did not see General Barbatos, who had previously been invincible.
At this moment, she hoped more than anything that the fearsome enemy would appear before her, because if that powerful enemy was not here, it could only mean they had gone to Fisher, something Raphael did not want to see.
Objectively, it seemed that the two of them had an extraordinary understanding on this matter, both wishing to attract the enemy’s attention to ensure the safety of the other side.
However, at this moment, the opposing Human Allied Forces had already launched an attack on their stationed Southern Branch Mountain under the orders of Barbatos and Ag, forcing Raphael to focus all her attention on the enemy’s assault.
“Clang!”
“Queen! They have begun their attack; please give the command!”
“Queen, they are moving, what should we do?”
“Calm down!!”
Facing the pouring rain, the Dragon Court forces atop the Southern Branch Mountain launched a barrage of physical and magical attacks, yet Raphael remained motionless, waiting for the human forces below to engage in close combat with their artillery, magic, and the vanguard knights, while Barbatos still did not show his face.
The existence of Barbatos lingered in her mind like a dark cloud; after hesitating for a moment, Raphael finally made up her mind to step onto the battlefield to confirm Barbatos’s situation.
If Barbatos was within the enemy ranks, then she would confront him directly, ensuring Fisher would not have to face him; conversely, if he truly was not present, then even if the Dragon Court Army was outnumbered, with Raphael, the Fourteenth Rank Queen, they would not be outmatched.
“Royal Guards, follow my orders; maintain vigilance and protective measures here. Ral, charge with me and relay my commands at any moment!”
“Your Majesty, you must not! That Barbatos…”
“Boom!”
The generals beside her changed expressions in an attempt to stop Raphael’s actions. Only Ral silently donned her cloak and mask, preparing to follow Raphael. The next moment, thunder rumbled from the sky, the pale light illuminating the faces of the many generals, and Raphael drew her spear with a “zing,” looking at the battlefield below and saying,
“Commanders of each legion, lead your troops well and do not fall into chaos; our first priority is to prevent the enemy from entering the Southern Branch Mountain. Ral, move!”
“Yes, Raphael.”
With that, Raphael leaped off the mountainside with a “boom,” and Ral glanced at the generals beside her before putting on her goggles and diving from the sky.
Amidst countless rain drops, she fell straight down without any protective measures. It was not until she was about a hundred meters from the ground that Raphael suddenly thrust the spear tip towards Ral, who then pushed off the spear to transform into a spinning blade-like windstorm, charging towards the numerous magically-enhanced knights.
“Boom!”
However, Ral’s initial assault was merely a feint to attract attention. When the Dragon Queen slammed her spear down, a large number of shielded knights flew backwards in an instant, limbs and blood spraying everywhere under the fiery red flames, shocking the human soldiers witnessing it from afar.
Certainly, there were many veterans from four and a half years ago who participated in the war against the Dragon Court and remained unfazed. The president of this advance unit was one such individual who had fought alongside Barbatos in the earlier conflict. Looking at Raphael tearing through the enemy ranks with lethal force, he frowned and patted the shoulder of his attendant, saying,
“Bring me those mechanisms; I need to make use of them.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Oh, and inform General Barbatos that the Dragon Queen has entered the fray once again.”
“Yes, but sir, the communication officer has already reported on this situation; however, there’s some chaos in headquarters, and they say they couldn’t find General Barbatos…”
“What?!”
This officer, who had remained composed while witnessing the Dragon Queen’s overwhelming might, felt a sudden surge of anxiety upon learning that the commanding general had mysteriously vanished. He hastily covered the mouth of his attendant and gulped, watching as boxes of mechanisms were brought over, sternly stating,
“This matter must not be told to anyone else; if it gets out, we could face a major collapse.”
The attendant forced a smile and complied, but it was fine since they were far from the chaos—I fear the headquarters will prove troublesome.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
“Raphael, it’s those strange machines!”
Hearing Ral’s warning, Raphael turned around and saw countless dark machines rising into the sky, descending upon them with a heavy sense of oppression. She furrowed her brow and used the magic engraved on her spear to resist, but the mechanisms remained unharmed, continuing to approach.
Still not coming out, Barbatos? It seems he really has gone to Fisher.
As Raphael clenched her teeth and aimed her spear at the incoming mechanisms, her cheek suddenly felt numb. After a brief pause, she raised her hand to touch her face, and a pool of hot blood immediately appeared in her palm.
A wound?
When did something hurt me?
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
But just as Raphael pondered this question, the flying mechanisms suddenly lost control, shaking violently as if the air beneath them had vanished. Nearby, countless fleeing human soldiers ran, and some limbs and heads began to drop to the ground.
“Ahhh!”
“It’s the wind?”
Raphael murmured, then raised her gaze towards the human camp and witnessed an unforgettable scene.
A massive whirlwind appeared as if it were reaching the heavens, with countless rain curtains and dark clouds bestowing it with an otherworldly appearance, revealing the very wind blades that had wounded both Raphael and the human soldiers.
As the hurricane formed, a huge pull emanated from it, cracking the ground beneath and leaving terrifying scars as if cleaving through it with an axe. Countless humans screamed as they fired and cast spells at the whirlwind, but all perished before its terrifying lethality.
“Ral, come back!”
That hurricane did not seem to be aimed at the Dragon Court, for it manifested within the main camp of the Human Allied Forces, mercilessly slaughtering their soldiers. Afterward, the massive whirlwind began to dissipate, transforming into numerous similarly sized whirlwinds while also revealing a dream-like portal leading into the depths of the earth.
Raphael quickly reached out to pull Ral back, but Ral was horrified watching the approaching wind engulfing countless armors and bodies, shouting,
“Raphael, that wind is coming for us!”
Raphael gritted her teeth and tried to run back, but even with her Fourteenth Rank physical strength, she found it difficult to move against the immense pull of the hurricane—not to mention the ordinary humans and subhumans.
People were constantly blown off the Southern Branch Mountain, and there were endless screams. Faced with this scene, Raphael felt an inexplicable restlessness rising within her. Those injured soldiers lying on the ground, despite their broken bodies, still fixated their reddened eyes on her, seemingly intent on killing her.
“Kill! Kill them!”
“Have you all gone mad?”
Raphael pierced one with her spear and continued to flee, while Ral, holding onto Raphael’s claws, unconsciously tightened her grip, whimpering in distress, saying to Raphael,
“Lady Raphael, something feels wrong; I feel… so restless. It’s like it’s coming from that void inside… I’m so scared.”
“Don’t look over there; there’s…”
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
But in the next second, before Raphael could finish her words, everything became silent.
No, more accurately, it wasn’t that she hadn’t finished speaking; the moment her words left her mouth, they were drowned out, swallowed by an even more powerful force and sound, which rendered everything else inaudible.
Suddenly, a brightness erupted from behind, like the rising sun. Raphael turned her head to see two shadows soaring from that void like thunder amidst the rain, tearing through the sky.
“Barbatos!!”
A female roar resonated, capable of stripping everyone of their hearing and attention. With that huge sound, the eyes of everyone present turned crimson. The next moment, the shadow covered in emerald green peacock feathers spread its wings and soared to greater heights, while another six-armed figure resembling a crimson tiger fell heavily to the ground, heading for Raphael’s direction.
Raphael’s eyes widened, the ringing in her ears blasting incessantly as the heavens’ rain seemed to be ignited by that descending entity, transforming into steaming vapor.
“Boom!”
Only when the nearly two-meter tall female figure landed before her did Raphael remember to flee. But just as she began to move her feet, her body felt as though it was about to disintegrate, the sensation more terrifying than when she was defeated by Barbatos’s single strike.
“Are you Raphael?”
The six-armed demon stood firmly on the ground and shook its long red-haired ears and facial protrusions before suddenly asking in the familiar Dragon Court tongue.
Raphael finally remembered to breathe, trembling as she pulled the unconscious Ral, who had been shaken senseless by the presence in front of her, to her back, gasping as she spoke,
“Who are you?”
Eil glanced at the dragon race before her with a complicated expression; a sudden restlessness surged within her, but she ultimately shook her tail and did not answer Raphael’s question. Instead, she looked towards the sky and said,
“I am Eil, Fisher’s companion. In any case, do not go near that portal; find a safe place to hide.”
Raphael seemed to realize something. She quickly replied,
“You must know Fisher, right? That portal, is he underneath? What about Jasmine, a whale folk? Is she down there too?”
“If you do not want to disappoint him and betray his kindness, hurry and find a place to hide until this is all over.”
“Wait, he…”
“Boom!”
In the next moment, however, Eil had already stomped the ground and leaped back up into the air, disappearing from her view as she charged towards the verdant shadow rushing down towards Raphael.
“Stay away from her!! Barbatos!!”
“He’s about to die; if she goes down, he might still live. Fisher would sacrifice himself for her; do you really think he can survive facing Ag in that state?”
“Shut up!!”
Eil crashed into Barbatos, wrapped in green feathers, mid-air, and in that instant, a whirlwind of furious winds and flames erupted, causing Raphael to belatedly dodge.
The enormous shockwave felt as though it would drag the world into an apocalypse. As Eil and Barbatos engaged mid-air, shockwaves resonated, drowning out the cries of people, the collapse of the earth, and the sound of the rain, as many individuals lost their hearing due to the overwhelming roar, unable even to witness their clash.
Like humans punished in the Genesis unable to gaze upon the miracle of the Mother, the people spread tales of such sights through imagination, dubbing them “myths.”
Countless feathers rose on Barbatos, his entire body transforming into blades. While dodging, he tried to distance himself, but Eil was relentless, akin to a rampaging tiger, continuously battering his body with her six arms.
“Boom, buzz!”
A sound like an engine echoed as Eil’s entire figure was engulfed in blazing flames. Seeing that she couldn’t break Barbatos’s defenses, she suddenly stomped on Barbatos’s feathers, producing a resounding explosion while striking a pose mid-air.
This is bad…
Seeing Eil maniacally dance, Barbatos attempted to turn and flee, but it was too late; Eil’s magical combat style had already been unleashed, and the next moment, her six arms swung like whips towards him.
“Boom, boom, boom!”
Echoing impacts followed as Eil’s attacks collided with Barbatos’s defenses. Upper arms attacked from top to bottom; middle arms struck from the sides while Barbatos attempted to continue downwards. However, Eil, now grinning savagely, raised her lower arms, striking his neck and lifting his head violently while simultaneously sending four fists crashing into his energy center.
“Cough!!”
Barbatos’s features twisted as he was struck, and all of his feathers violently entangled Eil, yet the immense force still propelled both of them towards the Southern Branch Mountain.
“Boom!”
In just one second, their figures crashed into the Southern Branch Mountain, instantly breaching the Dragon Court’s defenses, while both of their silhouettes continued plummeting southward, crushing countless mountains and forests, until they finally came upon the ocean and the cities before it.
A hundred miles in an instant.
And the sounds of their impact echoed down the mountains, carrying countless debris cascading down, causing the few defenders and civilians in the Dragon Court city to panic, raising their heads toward the trembling mountains, unaware they thought it was an earthquake from the like of an earth dragon turning over.
“Did the Human Allied Forces come?”
“Don’t panic; it should just be an earthquake; it shouldn’t come this quickly.”
“…”
Of course, the cries and confusion below did not enter the eyes of the two divine beings still embroiled in battle. In the deep mountains, there were newly raised peaks born from the immense energy, and there lay Barbatos, collapsing to the ground, while a weary Eil stepped back.
“Pfft.”
Thick, green blood continually dripped down, and the emerald feathers on Barbatos gradually dulled, hanging limply by his side.
“Eil, you must be exhausted too, huh, cough, cough.”
The blood dripped from the face, and Eil slowly lowered his raised fist, letting out a breath of fire that scorched the earth next to him until only a bare stone surface remained. Gritting his teeth, he said,
“I’ve told you countless times, Baemon is deceiving you, using you as tools, and you still foolishly move forward. Are you out of your mind?”
Barbatos, however, only looked at him and then said,
“Then, do you have any other way to get us out?”
“…”
Eil was taken aback by this question, but Barbatos merely shook his head and continued,
“I know that our race has been a mess since our birth, each ruling over their own, with many entangled in their own nature. Those who are sealed by that false god deserve their fate, but what about me, Cidi?
“Cidi and I have lived in isolation for many years after suppressing our nature. Nowadays, all races don’t even remember my real name. Do we have sins for not participating in that war? Does that guy sleeping in the nest have sins too?
“You naturally don’t care, but we have to live apart, even sleep cannot be together. Baemon previously brought a way for our souls to temporarily break free from the seals to Ag, and after researching for thousands of years, if there were truly a way to free us, would we trust Baemon?
The feathers on Barbatos trembled. He shook his head and said,
“You only refute us but offer no valuable solutions. In the end, it is simply because Fisher has a deep relationship with you, and you disregard our kinship for him. We can understand that. You can ignore Ag’s intention to release you, but why can’t you understand that I’m also doing this for Cidi? I chose to believe Baemon to be reunited with him.
“Legends say that the false god could no longer tolerate our actions on the Southern Continent and Western Continent, so he sealed us away. Hehe, if that’s true, then as mythical beings, how could we coexist with humans and other races for so many years? We are responsible for guarding the death under the dynasty; our nature is as simple for us as humans eating and drinking. How could we go overboard?
“It’s merely that false god worrying about not having other mythical beings at the end of the war, which led to such drastic measures. Ask yourself, did we really do anything back then to descend to our current state of being imprisoned as a whole? A hundred years isn’t enough, a thousand years isn’t enough. Do we have to wait for ten thousand years, for eternity?”
Perhaps there was disappointment in Barbatos’s gaze, and as a demon, Eil naturally understood that they were merely the last remnants dragged down by that false god before his demise.
That deity chose humans and favored them, even if it meant dragging all remaining mythical beings to destruction with him.
But from the facts, have humans really done better than mythical beings?
The world became their stage, yet for the world, there was not much change from before.
So, let’s just focus on personal feelings irrespective of race.
Meeting Barbatos’s gaze, Eil’s expression was somewhat complex. She exhaled deeply, billowing out clouds of smoke, and finally said,
“Cidi can suppress your nature; he is your most important existence. Fisher can suppress my nature, and I am willing to fight for him. There’s no need for further words.”
She raised her weapon once more, six arms simultaneously adopting a combat posture,
“All grudges are settled here.”
This phrase was a favorite among demons, as conflicts often arose from separation. Thus, there was an unwritten rule within the dynasty that the internal disputes of demons were dealt with as matters arose, and past causes would not affect future actions.
Demons cannot be killed; once a demon god dies, the seal on death will weaken, so even the Mother can only seal them.
Therefore, the way demons resolve grudges is to end everything at the moment the matter occurs.
Barbatos took down the bow and arrow he had carried on his back, aimed at Eil, and softly said,
“All grudges are settled here.”
“Hummm!”
In the next instant, the power of myths once again descended.
In the Dragon Court, within the Garden of Flowers.
Aria held her chest as the ground outside trembled continuously, as if verifying the terror of the battle taking place in the distance.
Outside the flower bushes, many children stood safeguarded by the guards of the Garden of Flowers, but still unable to withstand their fear, soon, some began to cry. The crying spread like an uncontrollable contagion throughout the Garden.
“Lady Aria, it seems there is a battle happening over on Southern Branch Mountain. Could it be… is the human army coming?”
As the guards tried to soothe the crying children, the adults among them, though not crying, were nonetheless filled with concern for the situation. They looked at Aria standing in the garden, questioning her.
Aria was momentarily stunned, stepping outside to gaze at the trembling mountains. Just as she was about to say something, a green light suddenly surged from the mountain, slicing through four or five peaks before continuing to soar dozens of miles into the ocean, creating a water column that reached a thousand meters high.
“Boom!!”
“Lady Aria, be careful!”
Aria stared blankly at the towering “water wall” that ascended in the ocean, feeling her mind being swept away by this terrifying power. She lost her strength instantly until a guard rushed out of the garden and pulled her back, and only then did she realize that with the fall of that water wall, a tsunami was about to sweep over this place.
“What… what is this?”
“Lady Aria, are you alright?”
“This… this power… Raphael, she… hah…”
Aria looked at the terrifying force, and the first thought in her mind was of her daughter. She couldn’t understand how such power could emerge among humans, but as she pondered this in bewilderment, she realized there were many children and guards around her.
“Lady Aria, we…”
She took a deep breath, then quickly stood up, looking at the impending water curtain and shouted to everyone,
“… Hurry! Take the children and leave, the tsunami is about to arrive!”
“Yes, Lady Aria, I’ll escort you first.”
“No, hurry and take the children away! I can walk by myself! Quickly, move!”
However, the battle on the mountains continued, and intense earthquakes persisted. Even with Aria’s command, the entire situation had become exceptionally chaotic.
With Aria’s order, everyone’s only goal was to hurry and leave, but many children, aside from those initially held, forgot them in the process of fleeing.
Aria went on holding the hands of those children, leading them to the guards, then returned once more to see if there were any children left behind.
“Boom!”
“Is anyone else inside? Children, hurry and leave, the tsunami is coming!”
The Garden of Flowers gradually fell silent, but Aria continued calling out, fearing a small unfortunate one might not have come out in time. However, nobody responded, which eased her heart little by little. Just as she was prepared to turn and leave, a voice suddenly called from the shrine of the Dragon Court,
“Lady Aria, I’m still here.”
Aria paused briefly, turning her head toward the shrine, and then she saw a human woman in Dragon Court clothing smiling and waving at her in front of the wall of flickering candles.
That was…
Oh right, it was the human that Raphael had sent over earlier—she said she was a reporter named Ingrid.
“Why are you still here? What are you doing? The tsunami is about to arrive, hurry and leave with me!”
Aria hurriedly rushed over to Ingrid, reaching out to pull her, but was surprised to find that this human was as heavy as if she weighed a thousand tons, and as a dragon, Aria couldn’t move her at all.
“What are you…”
At that moment, Aria realized in her panic and quickly let go of her hand.
This human had only spoken her native tongue since arriving here—now suddenly she was speaking the Dragon Court language?
“Don’t be afraid, Lady Aria. Actually, I’m here to discuss something with you.”
“Discuss… what? But the tsunami is about to come! Shouldn’t we flee quickly first? Can’t we talk about this later?”
Ingrid smiled, supported her chin with her hand, her blue-gold scattered pupils flickering slightly. In an instant, the tsunami roaring from a distance uncontrollably flew backward, dissipating into nothing.
“You…”
“Lady Aria, I mean to say your daughter, Raphael, might be about to die.”
Aria turned her head in disbelief, watching as Ingrid waved her hand, then went to pour herself tea with a cup, casually filling another cup for Aria and placing it on the table, before pointing to a seat across from her and saying,
“Please sit, Lady Aria.”
As if it were her territory, Ingrid’s demeanor made Aria momentarily unable to reconcile this woman, who had suddenly become so natural, with the previously silent human she had met half a month ago.
But regardless of the disappeared tsunami or the news she had just spoken of, Aria found it impossible to escape. After a moment of silence, she ultimately chose to sit at the table, looking at this tea-drinking woman, and asked,
“Ingrid, what do you mean that Raphael is about to die?”
“First drink some tea, Lady Aria.”
At such a time, who could focus on drinking tea?
That was what Aria thought in her heart, but when she looked down at the cup of tea before her, an image emerged on its surface like a dream.
The image showed the northern end of Southern Branch Mountain, where a cyclone surrounded, enveloping a portal leading to a mysterious space.
And Raphael, after carefully laying down the fainted Ral, was anxiously watching the distance, looking toward that portal, seemingly worried about someone within.
“What is this?”
“Lady Aria, perhaps you have known about Raphael’s uniqueness since childhood?”
Ingrid set down her teacup, bringing to light those buried memories within Aria’s deep past.
“One day she couldn’t sleep and came to your and your husband’s bedroom, saying she had a nightmare… in the dream, many black mists were chasing her, wanting to swallow her whole. She was very scared, so she came looking for you.”
Aria was slightly taken aback, quickly remembering these memories; she murmured,
“Yes, yes! Moreover, it wasn’t just this—she always could recall things we never told her. Those ancient Dragon Court scriptures, those spells; she always wanted to go to some place outside the tribe. We always forbade her, so she sneaked out before she reached adulthood.”
“How did you explain it to her back then?”
“I just said her soul was very special. But in truth, our tribe has long passed down prophecies that she could very well be the reincarnation of a great figure.”
Ingrid smiled slightly and then said,
“Reincarnation isn’t exactly the term—Raphael possesses something very precious, something the Feima Baharon deity fought to protect, merely polluted and changed by chaos.”
“What does this mean?”
Ingrid looked at Aria with a smile, her scattered pupils shining brightly.
“It means, your daughter is the real target of those terrifying enemies. Fisher has long known this, thus he had fought desperately against the enemies, but they are too powerful, and he cannot match them. But you see, he is a complete fool who is willing to die for your daughter.”
The image in Aria’s tea shifted once more, transforming into a scene where Fisher was pierced through the chest, battling against a terrifying being in a fierce fight, making Aria’s eyes redden.
Indeed, when she had promised Raphael and Fisher, it was with a sense of compromise, but perhaps she never anticipated that person would go to such lengths for Raphael.
“Alright, Aunt Aria, now let’s test the cultural knowledge of the dragon race.”
Ingrid smiled brightly, raising one finger, and said,
“Question: if a dragon’s suitable tail partner is in a life-or-death crisis, what will that dragon do? First option: abandon him without a second thought.”
“Raphael will go save Fisher!”
Without even thinking, Aria blurted that out. Ingrid smiled and nodded, then took another sip of tea, saying,
“Correct! Dragons will always go mad for love. Even if someone reminded her not to get close, how could she not care about Fisher and let him face death alone? However, Lady Aria, answering this question correctly comes with a corresponding reward. If I say I can save her, what would you think?”
“You…”
The flames of the candles in front of Aria flickered as if the ancestors of the deceased Raphael were pleading, urging to save that foolish dragon who acted out of love.
Aria remained silent for a moment before suddenly kneeling to the ground with a thud, lowering her head in front of Ingrid and pleading,
“You must not be an ordinary human. But no matter where you come from or for what purpose, I plead with you… save my daughter. If there’s any price to pay, I… I’m willing to give everything. Whatever you want, I just ask that you save her; I cannot bear to lose her again.”
Ingrid smiled gently and then extended her hand toward her, softly saying,
“Alright, but I want nothing. I only need your horn to save your daughter’s life.”
“Just like that?”
Aria was momentarily stunned, her gaze showing both gratitude and confusion.
“Thank you… but I don’t understand why you would help us like this. I…”
“…I’m just making one more preparation.”
“…What?”
Ingrid smiled brightly, standing up and pointing her hand toward Aria’s head, not answering her question but softly stating,
“Alright, after this, your memory will become slightly blurred; this is a necessary side effect. Rest well for a while.”
In the Garden of Flowers, a light flashed like morning sunlight, and the conversation ceased.
The intense battle on Southern Branch Mountain continued, with violent earthquake sounds resounding, shaking the candles that stood quietly as they watched the unconscious body of Aria, who had lost her consciousness and dragon horn lying on the ground, witnessing the occurrence of myths.
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(The chapter is complete)
