Salus’s lip-reading skills weren’t the greatest, but he was sure that was what she’d said.
“Emergency ascent! We need to head back to the Dragon Kingdom’s capital! I know the king would never betray us!”
The pilot quickly moved to obey, but before he could touch the controls, Mikaela shouted, “Deploy a barrier above us! They’re coming from the sky as well!”
It seemed the dragonmen had already gained control of the skies. Countless flashes lit up the bridge, each of them a dragon’s breath.
“Miledi, I’m sorry...” Salus muttered. He knew this situation was hopeless.
At around the same time, countless roars echoed through the Dragon Kingdom’s capital. Fires had broken out within the city and breath attacks shot back and forth while people screamed in the streets.
There had been a coup d’état within the kingdom. While the dragonmen had kept a vigilant eye out for external enemies, they hadn’t paid enough attention to their own internal affairs. Moreover, the surprise attack orchestrated by this rebel had been extremely well-planned, considering she was a young soldier and her followers were mostly civilians.
Half of the kingdom’s strongest fighters and generals had been killed or incapacitated in the initial assault, and those who had survived couldn’t tell friend from foe. The battlefield was utter chaos.
The one shining beacon of reason within the madness was none other than the dragon king, Tragdi Augis Astlan.
“Open your eyes, Shival!” Tragdi roared, transforming into a resplendent golden dragon. Gold sparks shot out of his mouth as he addressed the leader of the rebels—his daughter, Shival Augis Astlan. The two of them were facing off above the ruins of the city’s palace.
Shival had the same golden scales as Tragdi, and at a distance, they looked almost identical.
“You’re the one who needs to open his eyes, father. I’ve told you time and time again, if we wish to have a future, we dragonmen need to join hands with the church. Why can’t you understand that?!”
“It is that very church that has branded us as evil.”
“If we pledge our service to them, they’ll accept us as divine dragons instead. We can fill the hole left by the destruction of the Paragons of Light. That way, we won’t be persecuted anymore. No more of our brethren will have to die the way mother did!”
“The dragonmen you’ve riled up are killing those very same brethren you claim you want to protect!”
“This is a revolution. I need to shatter the old ways and the old values. These are necessary sacrifices that will ensure the Dragon Kingdom will continue to exist for another thousand years.”
“Shival, you...”
Shival valued lives over pride and tradition. Tragdi couldn’t rightly say that was a bad philosophy. However, Shival had never been the kind of person who would condone sacrifices for the sake of the greater good.
“Wait...”
Shival’s sudden radicalization and the glint of madness in her eyes wasn’t normal...and Tragdi became sure of his suspicions the moment a streak of silver light grazed his shoulder.
“Gah, I knew it! The church is behind this!”
Looking up, he saw an apostle hovering above them, bathed in the red light of the moon. Furthermore, there was an armada of theocracy airships coming in from the west. It seemed Shival had invited the church’s armies into the Dragon Kingdom.
“So they managed to corrupt you, Shival...?” Tragdi said in a sad voice, sounding more like a father than the dragon king in that moment.
“You’re mistaken, father. I chose this of my own free will,” Shival replied as she flew up to join the apostle.
“Order your men to stand down and name me the new dragon queen.”
“So that we can become Ehit’s lapdogs? Would you kill all the other races if your new master ordered you to?”
“This is all to ensure the dragonmen’s future.”
The church’s forces started landing in the city, surrounding Tragdi and his soldiers. Though the church had been severely weakened after their battle with the Liberators, there were still a good number of apostleified knights remaining. Tragdi gazed into Shival’s eyes, a pained expression on his face.
“Shival, I know I was not a good father to you.”
Shival blinked in surprise, then smiled a little and replied, “Father, does that mean...?”
She trailed off expectantly, hoping that he would surrender, but his next words made her smile stiffen.
“Hear me, citizens of Astlan. Tonight, the Dragon Kingdom will fall. Flee the capital now while there’s still time. Soldiers, protect the civilians until they’ve made it to safety! This is my final order as Dragon King Tragdi Augis Astlan!”
His booming voice reverberated throughout the entire city. Sparks ran down the length of his body, electrifying the air and calling down lightning bolts from the sky.
“Have you forgotten why it is that I never keep any guards around me?”
The dragonmen fighting for Shival trembled in fear, overwhelmed by the immense pressure Tragdi was emitting.
In order to be the ruler of the dragonmen, a person had to be the strongest among them. Everyone knew that, so they all knew how strong Tragdi was. Tragdi kept no guards because they’d just get in the way during any serious battle.
The reason Shival had asked for an apostle was because she knew that outside of the seven ancient magic users, only an apostle could hope to defeat Tragdi, the lord of thunder.
The majestic dragon king let out a roar, making Shival’s dragonmen faint on the spot.
“Bear witness to the true might of the dragon king!” Tragdi exclaimed as he bared his fangs at the apostle, daring her to attack. He needed to buy as much time as he could for his people, and for the Liberators, to escape.
This would be his final battle.
As the dragon king’s roar echoed through the city, there was one section of it that was under heavy attack by Shival’s dragonmen: the three-story building where the Liberators had been staying. The left and right wings of the building had already been demolished, and it was only thanks to the Hallowed Ground barrier surrounding the center that it was still standing.
The walls were still one step away from crumbling even in the center, however.
“Dad! Where are you?!” Shirley’s voice echoed through the corridors. Blood was dripping down her face, and she was unsteady on her feet. She heard a groan from underneath a pile of nearby rubble and desperately started clearing it away. Underneath it was Rigan, his chest caved in. He let out a small groan as Shirley uncovered him.
“Shirley...”
“D-Dad! It’s gonna be okay! We just need a healer and—”
“Forget...about revolution... Live for your own happiness instead...”
He was hovering on the edge of consciousness and wasn’t even aware of what he was saying. However, despite being a firebrand revolutionary himself, he truly did wish for his daughter to abandon the path he’d chosen. Speechless, Shirley simply squeezed Rigan’s hand.
“Miledi-kun...you too...” Rigan muttered.
“Dad...” Shirley called out to him. However, there was no reply. She ignored the sounds of battle raging all around her, looking only at her father’s lifeless eyes.
No...just like that? Shirley thought blankly, still squeezing her father’s hand.
Just then, another explosion rocked the building and a pillar started falling toward Shirley. She looked absently up at it, not really seeing it, and making no move to get out of the way. Right before she was crushed, however, Baharl tackled her to safety.
“You idiot!” he screamed as the pillar crashed into the walls, causing them to creak ominously. It looked like they might cave in at any second.
“Get a grip, lass! We’ve gotta make it to the barrier!”
“B-But dad—”
“Rigan’s dead! But you’re still alive! And if you’re still alive, you’ve gotta keep struggling until the very end, right?!” Baharl exclaimed as he slapped her across the face, snapping Shirley out of her stupor.
He’s right. Rigan Nelson’s daughter would never just meekly accept her death!
“The barrier...must be Reinheit-san’s doing.”
Indeed, Reinheit and Sharm were both in the Dragon Kingdom. They’d arrived three days after Laus and the others had left, and they’d been talking with Kaime and Selm in Laus’s place ever since.
“The kid’s got good reflexes. Or wait, maybe he just has good instincts? He cast that barrier just before the first attacks came. It’s thanks to him that half of us are still alive.”
Of course, that meant the other half were dead. They’d escaped execution by the church only to be killed here instead.