Back in Ne Okozmo, being truthful to its role as a hidden world, the atmosphere remained peaceful. It didn't have the tension that every Kingdom in the world shared at the moment. It was not something out of the ordinary since Dragons rarely meddled in other's business. That said, Layland was bafflingly lax despite being the one at the centre of the war.
"The war has started. Aren't you worried about your people?"
"Why should I?"
"They don't have their ace, after all."
"They have people stronger than me on their side—they will be fine. You should worry more about yourself."
The fact was pointed out by Alaia who had come to challenge him after losing a fight with Millonia who used [Bottomless Abyss] against her. It wasn't her first time experiencing Millonia's [Bottomless Abyss], so she could tell at that moment that Millonia had surpassed her.
She had spent the last two months and a half studying Millonia's unique personality, so she knew what awaited her when Millonia could get her hands on her. Not betraying her expectation, Millonia did what she had done to her, but ten times crueller.
The beatings that Millonia did to her would have rendered anyone useless for their life, but thanks to being a Dragon, she could get away with a few broken bones. She was glad that she didn't go overboard with Millonia's beatings and Millonia was sensible enough to not do more than what had been done to her.
As accepting as she was of what had happened to her, her pride was still hurt. She was aware that there were individuals stronger than her despite not being a Dragon, but that didn't mean she would feel nothing when faced with such a situation. She had never lost to her peers since the day she was born. That fact further amplified her bitterness for losing.
"You were already stronger than I am since the day you came here. I won't win against you if you use your true power, so I ask you to only utilize your Dragon power."
"Are you sure having a handicapped opponent won't hurt your pride?" Layland asked curiously, taking Alaia's personality into account.
"That is not a handicap. We will just be fighting like Dragons," Alaia answered, slightly frowning as if Layland had said something scandalous.
Without wasting any more breath, Alaia assumed her Dragon Form. Her explosive Mana pushed the air in her surroundings away, uprooting some not well-rooted trees. The pressure her Mana was giving off was enough to make even well-trained Heroes empty their guts. With her humongous body and the flame coming out of her mouth, one look at her was enough to tell that running away was the most sensible choice.
Layland was, of course, different from just anyone. Looking at Alaia with a quirked eyebrow, he was neither intimidated nor impressed. He might not realize it, but he was giving Alaia the impression that he was disappointed, which he was. Alaia wasn't weak per se; he had gotten strong enough that he had expected more from Alaia than she was capable of.
Responding to the Dragon in kind, Layland activated his Dragon power. His Mana intensity increased tenfold, pressuring Alaia who was actively shielding herself from his Mana's influence. As the Draconic scale armour covered Layland's body, Alaia widened her eyes in utter disbelief. It had only been less than three months, but Layland had cultivated his Dragon power this much.
As someone who inherited the blood of a Dragon through a ritual, Layland wasn't blessed with the ability to turn into a Dragon. He could only grow three times his size, which made him over 21' tall, but the amount of Mana he could unleash was ungodly. Alaia was very sensitive to Mana but couldn't fathom how much Mana Layland had.
It was a very absurd situation for her as Layland didn't even tap into his Demonic Essence. She wondered just how strong he truly was. Natural, her chance of winning against Layland became even more minuscule. Despite so, she still had a smile on her face. At least, she could lose against a fellow Dragon.
Gathering Mana in her mouth, she formed a giant fireball. The Mana was processed so well that the fireball looked like a mini sun. As Layland was already fully covered in Dragon scales, Alaia didn't hesitate to shoot the fireball. The temperature raised significantly and the air that the fireball touched immediately disappeared, creating a vacuum in the air.
Boom!
Layland merely extended his hand and let it crash into his palm. The fireball was stopped dead in its track, unable to push Layland even an inch. Nonchalantly, Layland clenched his hand and the fireball was obliterated. A torrent of hot waves swept the area, burning the trees and scorching the ground. Layland's hand was left steaming but fine otherwise.
Alaia was by no means pleased by the result, but she had a mischievous smile on her face. Layland quirked an eyebrow in interest and soon found out why she had a 'gotcha' look on her face. The ground under him was faintly moving as if something was coming out of it. He acted quickly and cast [Teleportation] only to find the space around him sealed, thus rendering [Teleportation] useless.
Bang!
Lava came shooting out of the ground, hitting Layland point-blank. In the blink of an eye, the ground had turned into a volcano's mouth. Of course, natural volcanoes weren't enough to harm Layland. The volcanoes a Dragon could make were ten times more dangerous than normal volcanoes as they produced lava hot enough to melt a hill in an hour.
No matter how sturdy Layland's armour was, he must suffer from the explosion and the destructiveness of the lava. At least, that was what should happen. It was much to Alaia's bafflement to find Layland completely harmless after the lava settled down. The caving and melting ground below him looked like a ridiculous decoration with his floating above it.
"How…"
"Is it my turn now?"
Layland didn't have any intention to mock Alaia for her shortcomings but managed to make her feel laughable. She laughed at herself in disbelief and didn't even bother to fight as Layland pushed her down by her head. She fell helplessly to the ground face-first. She tried to push her body up but it was for nought. She couldn't do anything.
Sighing inwardly, Alaia let go of her Dragon Form. She didn't bother to fight any more as she already knew the result wouldn't change no matter how many times she tried. She had been surpassed by a human and a supposedly newborn Dragon. While it slightly disappointed her, she was also happy that her disciple and one of her kin could grow that quickly.
"Great! Now, it is my turn!"
As Layland helped Alaia up, they heard someone shouting excitedly from the side. It was Millonia who had been there since the beginning of their fight, so none of them was surprised. They knew from the moment they started fighting, Millonia would ask for a fight too. Being able to win against Alaia had never been her goal in the very first place. She aimed to beat Layland fair and square.
"This is not the right time, Millonia," Layland stated calmly. "We have to depart for Cresundia today."
"Ah, okay," Millonia agreed easily.
The interaction made Alaia blink her eyes. Millonia was an irritatingly stubborn person. Even when she was still weaker than Alaia, she hardly listened to her words. She would never do things that went against her will even if she had to be beaten senseless because of it. Therefore, seeing her fold so easily because of Layland's words was mind-boggling.
Of course, Alaia was well aware that she couldn't compare herself to Layland. He was much stronger than her and closer to Millonia. He possessed all the causes to make Millonia docile whereas she didn't. She knew she would never be able to make Millonia behave like that, so she was merely revelling in the fascination of how different Millonia acted before Layland.
"Where is Lady Aurelia? Is she not going to leave with you?" Alaia asked curiously.
"She is. I am waiting for her and that is why I am here."
"Uh…did you accept my challenge to kill some time?"
"No," Layland answered sternly, lifting Alaia's spirit. "It ended so quickly that I didn't feel any time was killed."
"…"
Alaia sighed and slumped dejectedly. She thought she could already handle a defeat as it was the second defeat in her life but it affected her just as much as her first defeat did. She had always mocked the pitiful Dragons who lost to her for despairing and now she felt bad for them as she could feel what they felt. A fair and square defeat was very frustrating.
Everyone looked up when a huge shadow was cast over them from above. There was a black Dragon that was big enough to envelop the peak of a mountain in a hug hovering in the sky. Everyone knew about the identity of this Dragon. It had been a long time since they last saw her roaming the sky of Ne Okozmo, but no one could ever forget her.
Aurelia.
As Alaia bowed her head politely and revelled in Aurelia's majesty, Layland grabbed Millonia's waist and jumped to the sky. They got on Aurelia's back and then left Ne Okozmo with her without a single word. Aurelia turned into a black streak and disappeared from view in the blink of an eye. She didn't make any sound; her presence just disappeared as if she had never been there.
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