Chapter 506

C 506. The Guardian Dragon (6)

‘Maybe I should have gotten off Basiliora before entering.’

A few days later.

As soon as he arrived at the capital of the empire, Alon Palatio briefly regretted the commotion his arrival was causing, but after reflecting for a moment, he reached a conclusion.

‘It’s better to clear up the misunderstanding quickly.’

Basiliora had already been discovered. At this point, dismounting and entering the capital on foot would only delay the meeting with Contanias. Alon decided he should meet him as soon as possible, so he flew over the inner castle and descended directly into the imperial palace.

—Mmm… for all the scandal people made, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to attack us immediately, right?

—That’s right.

However, to his surprise, the reaction was one of stillness. At Evan’s words, Alon looked down. He saw the soldiers, all with their weapons in hand but completely rigid, like statues. It was a very different attitude from the panic perceived a moment ago from the air. Furthermore, none of them dared to point their weapons directly at Basiliora.

Basiliora, for his part, seemed delighted to be the center of attention. He was making an effort to stretch his body and look more imposing and larger than usual when…

—… We were expecting you.

A man greeted the group with a respectful bow.

—You were expecting us?

—Yes. He is waiting for you inside.

Alon nodded, understanding without difficulty that he was referring to Contanias.

‘Did he realize?’

He thought it couldn’t be easy to notice while being so high in the sky, and said:

—Basiliora.

[Kkyu-!]

It was the signal for Blackie to undo the transformation. Blackie responded immediately, but…

[Hum.]

Basiliora let out a sound and looked at him sideways with caution.

—?

[That… could I stay like this a little longer?]

Basiliora murmured in a voice low enough so that the soldiers below would not hear him. Blackie’s shadow, which covered the snake’s body, shifted upward and formed eyes that looked at him with absolute contempt. However, despite Blackie’s gaze, Basiliora maintained his request with total cheekiness.

—… Do as you wish.

Alon finally had no choice but to give in.

[Juju! Understood.]

Basiliora, visibly satisfied with the permission, stretched his neck upward with pride. Alon, after confirming his good mood, began to walk following the man who guided them. He was going to meet the prince leading the Northern Empire, Contanias.

Alon had gathered general information about Contanias during the journey. Of course, it was nothing out of the ordinary, as they were only rumors heard in the Information Guilds of the towns, but he knew more or less what state he was in.

‘They said he had become stronger.’

He had heard that Contanias obtained several new powers after the great Consecration Matrix was created in the empire. Although he didn’t have precise details, it was said to be a power inaccessible to an ordinary human. The little Alon heard was that the princesses and princes of the imperial bloodline, including Contanias, had obtained the ability to mimic something similar to dragon language.

An ability similar to dragon language. Logically, it wasn’t real dragon language. But even if it was only similar, it wasn’t something that could be ignored, so Alon arrived with a certain curiosity.

He arrived, but…

—… Are you okay?

—I-I’m perfectly fine!

Alon observed Contanias. His eyes didn’t stay still for a second, looking everywhere with anxiety, and his body trembled in such a way that he seemed to have reached a lethal dose of fear.

‘… Is this perhaps the price for obtaining that power?’ Alon thought, but since he hadn’t heard anything like that in the Information Guild, the doubt remained.

—… Is something wrong?

—N-no, nothing!

—… Are you sure?

—Yes!

Contanias seemed to be under extreme military discipline. Alon looked away and saw that Penia and Evan were also making faces of “what’s wrong with this guy?”, confirming he wasn’t the only one who found it strange.

Alon had no choice but to continue the talk in that state. Although his main goal was to see Ar, he also had things to ask him. Furthermore, Contanias didn’t explain why he felt so much fear despite the indirect questions. Alon felt the gazes of Penia and Evan alternating between him and the prince, and he felt unfairly singled out; after all, he had only presented himself before him.

Therefore:

—I have a couple of things to ask you, can we talk?

—Yes, o-of course it’s possible!

Alon posed two questions to the terrified Contanias. The first about the Consecration Matrix and the second about his new abilities. They were simple questions, but Alon obtained quite a bit of information and an unexpected piece of data.

—… You say Yutia Bloodia explained it to you?

—Yes…!

It turned out that Yutia had taught them how to create the Consecration Matrix/Formation. Alon sank into his thoughts. According to Contanias’s explanation, what they did consisted of three steps: first, finding the hidden “points” in each territory of the empire; second, imbuing those points with the power of possibility (the power of the Supernatural Blood) that they received; and third, that the three siblings performed a ritual over a magic circle.

It wasn’t such a complex process. However, that Yutia Bloodia had given them the instructions was clearly unusual.

—… Did you not know you could use your abilities to create the Consecration Matrix before she spoke?

—T-this… no, we didn’t know.

Faced with Contanias’s bewildered response, Alon stroked his chin. According to this, Yutia Bloodia knew how to use the power of the Supernatural Blood better than the empire’s own princes. And she even knew all the points necessary for the ritual.

‘What does this mean?’

Innumerable deductions appeared and disappeared in his mind without reaching a clear conclusion. He remembered Yutia Bloodia’s voice: “Well… I’ve heard of the Supernatural Blood from Rine, but I don’t know it in detail”. The memory of her smiling with apparent sincerity passed through his head.

‘I’ll have to talk to Yutia.’

Feeling a strange tightness in his chest, Alon decided to change the subject, knowing he wouldn’t get answers at this moment.

—I understand. About the Consecration Matrix, could you explain its operation to me once more?

—Yes.

Contanias, moving from bewilderment to nervousness, explained again.

—T-this… as I said before, I haven’t been able to verify it in detail either… but basically, in normal times, it only maintains a structural connection that anyone can pass through. However, when a Divine Blood appears, the structure temporarily becomes dense.

—… And during that time, passage between the interior and exterior becomes impossible?

—Exactly.

—… I understand the general principle.

Of course, he only understood the concept; the way it was configured and functioned mechanically remained a mystery. Alon threw a few more questions, but unfortunately did not obtain additional information from Contanias. He wasn’t disappointed, as he expected it.

After finishing the questioning:

—… And where is Ar?

He finally brought up the subject for which he had come to the Northern Empire.

Immediately afterward, Alon headed to the large castle located in the center of the imperial palace. It was an immense fortress where the emperor was supposed to reside.

—… Wow, it’s absurdly large.

—Don’t be a provincial.

—Provincial? It’s large because it’s large.

—What I’m saying is don’t be surprised by every single thing.

—Aren’t you looking down on me too much? Hey, I was a noble!

He listened to the chatter between Evan and Penia as soon as they entered. But while he heard their whispers, Alon thought of Ar. That little one who always clung to his waist with her tail while whimpering.

‘Is Ar the Crying Dragon of the Empire…?’

Honestly, he found it hard to believe. In his memories, Ar was only the girl who stuck to him crying.

—It’s here.

How much time had passed while he walked lost in thought? Alon returned to reality at Contanias’s words and saw how the huge doors began to open. Inside the room…

[…]

…he could see the dragon. With her eyes closed as if sleeping, without making the slightest movement, a body so colossal that it made even 그 immense castle seem like a small cage.

—… Ar?

Faced with an appearance totally different from the one he remembered, Alon murmured her name involuntarily. Rine, beside him, also let out a stifled exclamation while observing the black dragon.

Srrr-

The black dragon’s eyes, closed until a moment ago, began to open slowly. Those eyes looked around her heavily, as if waking from a lethargy, and as soon as they fixed on Alon and Rine…

[!!]

Ar’s pupils dilated. In that instant:

Fwaaaa!

Ar’s body glowed and began to shrink. The next second:

—Daddy!!

Having gone from a giant dragon to the form of a girl in a blink, Ar threw herself toward Alon. As always, she wrapped her tail around his waist and hugged him tightly with both arms.

‘… Daddy?’

Alon was bewildered for a moment by the term, but soon wrapped his arms around her naturally. Thinking about it, although Ar used to call him “You” or “Thou,” the first time he saved her, for some reason, she called him “Daddy.” While he stroked her in silence, Alon felt the area of his chest become wet.

—… You haven’t changed at all.

It was a somewhat joking comment from Alon, who knew the old Ar. At those words, Ar rubbed her face hard against his chest as if she were annoyed, but Alon simply continued stroking her.

—Really, sniff… I missed you, waaaa… so much!

—I’m sorry I took so long.

Alon felt pity seeing Ar looking at him with eyes clouded with tears. He thought that if she was waiting for him so much, he should have come a bit sooner.

While everyone contemplated that tender scene…

‘I-it was true!’

Only Contanias observed the situation with his face distorted by amazement. Certainly, he knew part of the truth, but seeing it with his own eyes was another story. And was that all? Seeing that the Crying Dragon of the Empire —the one before whom any emperor prostrating on the ground obtained not even a change in expression— showed such emotions, was something unheard of.

While Contanias and the soldiers remained with their mouths open, the prince’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets because of what happened next. The reason was that the Crying Dragon, after sobbing a little, looked up and glanced at Penia and Rine.

—I’m also glad to see you, my concubines!

She said with total naturalness. And then…

—?

—?

—?

For some reason, the air suddenly froze.