A man walked through the city's streets, sitting in the local tavern, watching people haul the rubble away. It's been two days since the undead attacked. Rumors about a dragon rampaging close to the main gate were the hottest news.
Was it mere hallucinations or a reality? No one knew, but that man was certain. The dragon that sent them here was mad.
He sighed, standing up and joining them in the work. His eyes peeled for anyone in distress.
***
"Today, start the second meeting after the disaster. How is the situation." King Baltos said, sitting on his throne with his hand strapped with bandages. Even he didn't survive the attack without sustaining injuries.
CLACK! A woman in full plate armor approached, holding a scroll. "Top priority, we haven't found the person who sent the assassins after her ladyship Isdis. We haven't discovered any traces of Arad Orion either."
"I suggest we bring all the nobles here," Lucy, the fifth and youngest princess, approached the throne. "Quelling the Arad's rage should be our only concern, as he's a danger we can't ignore."
Thomas walked forth, "We have no leads on that. It's best we focus on restoring the city and its citizens first. Whoever tried to Kill sister Isdis will eventually show up,"
"You must be crazy, brother." Charlie looked at Thomas, "That motherfucker would snuff the city with one breath if we don't find the other fucker who tried killing sister. Just look at what his brother did," He pointed out of the window at the mountain Gojo burned. "That's a gaping hole in a goddamn mountain if I ever saw one."
"Charlie!" His mother stared at him, "No swearing in the court."
"Sorry mum," He sighed, "But we don't want that," He pointed at the mountain, "In the middle of our city," He pointed down.
Baltos scratched his beard, "Charlie is right, Arad in himself isn't an enemy. But there is no telling how he would deal with the threat. That's the danger." He looked forward, "What do you think?" His eyes stopped at Arad's friends.
"I doubt Arad would harm the city," Aella replied, "Even when he raged before, he only killed the assassins."
"Does it really matter how he would react?" Jack stared at them, "I'm sure the one behind this is a noble in search of power, we should send spies to a bunch of them."
"A divine judgment, some of the clerics should have lie detection blessings." Lydia said, "All it takes is ten paladins showing up at their door one by one and we'll pull whoever is behind it all."
"Whoever did this should have thought of that," Eris sighed, "People rarely hire assassins unprepared for such things. It's naive to think they didn't account for spells or investigation."
CRACK! The door busted open and Isdis rushed in, "Don't let me out of this!" She growled, "I will go talk to him, I'm sure that will calm him down."
"And risk yourself getting shot again? No chance," Baltos stared at her.
"Arad killed all the assassins right?" Isdis stared at her father, "I will be fine."
"We can't be sure of that, the last thing we want to enrage him further. You're staying in the castle under surveillance."
****
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! As Gojo sat on the castle's roof, he looked at the sky to see a flock of pigeons fly and spread across the city.
He lifted his hand and one of them landed on his finger. Staring at her eyes, he smiled, "You're watching, brother. They are safe, feel free to focus on finding the culprit."
He lifted his arm and the pigeon flew away, a disturbing purple glow in its eyes.
****
Kids played in the city plaza, running with sticks after a squirrel. "Come back!" One of them shouted.
The squirrel jumped through a stall and climbed a tree, lunging into a house through the window.
"You kids!" A woman shouted, "Stop bullying the little thing!" She patted the squirrel, feeding him some old bread. But the moment she turned around, she felt as if someone was watching her.
"Who?" She rapidly stared back, seeing only the squirrel there.
Inside an old tavern, people sat to drink after the morning hard's hard work. "This place is always a shithole," One of them sighed. "Why don't you clean it? Look, there is a spider there."
They looked at a massive black spider, dangling by her web from the ceiling.
Another man stood, lifting a stick, "It pisses me off," He tried killing it, but she ran into the wall and kept watching them.
All across the city, animals and bugs became Arad's eyes and ears, allowing him to spy on the whole village.
****
Four days after the disaster, the king held another meeting as they had unusual guests showing up. As the throne room's gate opened, an old lady wearing clothes of animal hide walked in with two buff men at her side wearing the side kind of clothes and carrying wooden staves.
"What brought druids to my castle? Your people rarely like to interact with civilization." Baltos said.
The old lady walked forward and stared at Baltos, "You know why I'm here," She said, her voice shaking, "Nature is angry, the forest is crying." She gasped.
"And what that has to do with us? We couldn't help it with the undead attack." Baltos replied, "I can give your people shelter if that's what you want,"
The old hag shook her head, "No, you don't understand. Your people are the problem. Four days ago, we felt the presence of a dragon in the forest and went to check on it."
She started telling her story.
When the druids felt Arad's presence in the forest, they first tried inspecting how nature was reacting to him. How the animals and monsters are moving, how the plants are growing, and if the wind is changing.
It was horrible, animals were stressed, the plants had started growing rapidly due to his mana, and mist slowly covered the forest. The monster changed their territories and the wind started blowing with rage.
The dragon was furious, they could feel it for miles.
"We tried appeasing him." She said.
The druid picked two of their finest maidens and a dozen cows, painting and decorating them before making a pilgrimage to what they thought was the dragon layer.
Before the cave, the druids bowed and the old lady called. "Ah! Great king of the forest, answer our prayers." She lifted her hands, "We brought you a sacrifice!"
From the darkness of the cave, Arad walked out. A massive black dragon glittering like polished obsidian. His purple eyes glared at the druids.
"Those are yours." The old lady slowly moved back as the two maids stood, each pulling six cows as they approached Arad.
"Leave!" Arad growled, "I do not seek sacrifice." He glared at the maidens, "The human blood I seek is not theirs. One of the capital harmed one of my wives, that's the blood I seek."
****
The old hag's eyes opened wide as she glared at Baltos, "It's your kind's fault! You're the ones who offended the dragon!" She shouted, almost tearing her own voice cords.
The two men held her, "Mother, please calm down. We aren't here seeking a fight, we seek a peaceful solution." One of them said.
"Let me go!" She yelled at them, "It's his fault!" She pointed at baltos, "If you call yourself the king of this place, then keep a leash on your people!" She pushed her sons away and approached Baltos's throne.
"If you do not mend this, you will pay dearly and we're going down with you. The one who messed with the dragon must be chained and offered as a sacrifice, there is no other way around this." She screamed.
"The dragon you talk about," Baltos looked at her, "His wife that got attacked, she is my daughter, the fourth princess."
"Then you failed as a king and a father! Do you think that changes anything?" She shouted at him.
One of the guards looked at the old hag, "Calm down, druid old lady. Arad Orion is a friend of the kingdom..." He paused, seeing her shaking.
"What on earth did you just say? Orion?" She started backing away, "You've gone and done it again..." She pointed at Baltos.
"What's gotten into you now?"
"We're leaving the forest, now," She looked at her sons.
"Answer my question," Baltos glared at her.
"Orion, one of the holy formations of the sea of stars. Orion, the hunter." She replied, "You're enraged by the wrong dragon. You have no idea what kind of disaster you've unleashed upon us."
One of her sons stared at Baltos, "Orion, our legends call her name as a powerful Drakaina. The termination of dreams, the stars of the desire, and the endless night. One of your kingdoms, Asmarina. Do you know of them?"
"Asmarina, the kingdom that fell into the ground and only left a hole." Baltos stared at them.
The other son looked at Baltos with a worried face, "That kingdom didn't fall into any hole. Orion ate it whole after they killed a man she took as a husband."
"Your kingdom would face the same tribulation!" The old hag screamed and the throne door burst open.
"Your majesty!" A guard rushed in, sweating. "Count Almore, his wife, and oldest son were found dead. Their bodies were ripped apart in their house. The youngest kids, the maids, and the servants were found and didn't even hear any noise."
"So it's beginning," The old hag looked out the window, seeing a black crow flying across the sky. "He sniffed them out, and it's time for termination. A judgment from the stars,"
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel