Chapter 57: Their plans
"I've heeded your order and arrived in a flash, Miss Alexandra."
A male's voice rang above the volcano's spire. A few breaths later, a lively blue parrot with a long feather protruding from his head dropped before the dragon woman, lifting his eyes at her and crooking his head.
He didn't expect any call so soon, but this dragon woman would never call him unless it was something important.
Moreover, she wasn't even meant to reveal herself like that. Her presence would scare all level fifty and below humans and monsters, for she was a famous dragon, but with fallen wings.
This term meant that she had once been a high-level existence. Alas, something happened, and she simply fell from her grace, losing her level and status.
But because of what she'd achieved in her prime, the parrot could only bow before the dragon and respectfully answer her wishes — at least until the whole event ended.
Alexandra cast an irritated and sharp gaze at the parrot, for he never displayed any hint of fear before her. She wanted to grasp and squeeze him to a near-death state so that he'd learn how to respect dragons.
Unfortunately, she needed him to survive this ordeal.
"Someone has broken my enchantment in one of the abandoned fortresses," Alexandra spoke in an even sharper voice than her countenance, for someone had served her a defeat.
The parrot nodded and asked flatly. "Which fortress?"
A vein popped and throbbed on the dragon's temple. "Seventh Fortress."
"Oh? It's pretty close to the crack, so no wonder… I suspect the Silver Wing Guild is seizing more of our lands to solidify their defenses around the crack. They should've hired a lot of humans to achieve it. Well, other than that and a few variables, everything's going according to our plan. I'll keep an eye on the seventh fortress." The parrot crooked his head again, speaking fluently and calmly.
Alexandra didn't feel any need to continue talking with him. But then, she picked up hiding presences with her sharpened and experienced senses and curved her lips into a jeering smile.
She called the parrot. "Have you also expected that?" And pointed at the volcano's interior, where the dwarf and his bodyguards stepped in.
They moved through natural bridges above the raging lava, cautiously keeping their surroundings in check. It seemed like they knew what they were doing, and the volcano's interior wasn't foreign to them.
Curious and shocked that they could so easily come to the volcano, the most dangerous zone in the Tehmezhya Region, the parrot trained his eyes on the dwarf and his party, awaiting.
A few minutes later, the short man fished a scroll thrice his size. It was big and seemingly impossible for a dwarf to hold on to it, yet the dwarf inside the volcano easily moved with it in his hands, then spread the scroll on the warm but safe ground.
When the scroll unfolded, the dragon and the parrot narrowed their eyes at the described runes.
"I can't read them."
"…"
Alexandra remained silent and didn't admit that she couldn't read them, too. But as the sealed coffin appeared, with many chains wrapped around it, her eyes gleamed in happiness.
The parrot wore the same expression.
"We've found our survival chance." The parrot was confident that the coffin held what would save their split spirit realm and even ensure the return to their world.
He shivered from ecstasy, seemingly unable to stay in one place. But even that finding didn't turn him blind and impatient, and soon, the parrot regained reins over his emotions.
"We can't rush in. Only this dwarf can open the coffin. And he needs the volcano to achieve it…." The parrot scrutinized the environment, its mana, and the dwarf's hammer.
Alexandra could only agree with him. "You'll covertly bring our forces here and assault them."
But as she wheeled to the parrot, he was no longer there. Instead, a man in his early thirties with a goatee and short, messy hair stood. He wore long robes that had hidden his bird legs and feathers around his forearms that would expose his origins.
The parrot chuckled and shook his head. "No. We're too vulnerable after losing our immortality. It's better to let humans deal with the dwarf and black asura."
"You'll spread false information then." The dragon crossed her arms and glowered at the short man. "Seems like it'll take him a lot of time to open the coffin… Boring."
"We also should stick to our main plan in case we lose what's inside the coffin." The parrot reminded the dragon about their main plan, for their survival couldn't rely on mere luck.
Relying on luck to find an item or sacrifice to ensure the realm's survival was simply too naive. Hence, the parrot had two plans in mind, the main one ensuring the spirit monsters' survival, not the realm.
It went against what Leon and others believed, but the spirit monsters were also around level fifty in the end. They had their limits, too, and couldn't blindly believe they had what it took to save a split realm.
"You think I'll lose against them?" Alexandra tilted her head like a bully, glowering at the man.
Noticing her balled and trembling hands, the parrot parted his lips. "No-"
But he stopped before saying more, for Alexandra suddenly turned around and looked far to the east. Following her eyes, the parrot blinked at the sudden appearance of snow.
It snowed. It never did in their region, yet it snowed now.
"Winterborn… They're here after me. How the fuck did they know?" Alexandra gritted her teeth at the familiar and unforgettable sensation.
Depending on their relationship with Winterborn, their coldness could only be pleasant or violent. In Alexandra's case, though she couldn't feel the snow yet, the memories from the past made her recall the latter. She felt the faint feeling of losing control over her body and the chilling coldness cutting off her limbs, fingers, and tail.
It was improbable for the same source of that feeling to appear here — that existence shouldn't have lost wings like her.
But even so, Alexandra couldn't easily shake off that uncomfortable feeling. She wanted to get rid of it now.
The parrot chimed in. "You absolutely can kill them all, Miss Alexandra. I don't doubt that you can kill everyone here in one wave. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been known as Blue Thanatos. But if the legend is true, then even the God of Death had fallen and died. You have numbers and time against you.
"Keep an eye on the dwarf and black asura and wait for the perfect moment to come out and dominate everyone. Exactly, dominate. Remember that you can't kill humans."
It was impossible to tell whether Alexandra would be able to focus with the snow far in the east, but the parrot could only believe in her. He calmed down when the dragon sat down and locked her eyes on the dwarf.
"I'll engage everyone in the second phase after spreading fake information. With enough time, you'll enjoy a bloody show you love so much in our precious volcano's feet." The parrot covered his head in a hood, then turned around.
In his human form, he kicked off the ground and flew to the skies.
After considerably distancing away from the blue dragon, the parrot commented aloud. "Blue Thanatos. Damn, how many people did she kill to receive such a nickname and get it approved by the dragon guild? Heh… And I can control that dragon now… Oh, man… How can I fly with balls this big?"
The parrot wondered aloud…
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