🗡🗡🗡
BILLY flipped a playing card over. “It’s far too quiet.”
“They arrived to patrol the area before midnight, and it’s been around five hours since, right?” Zeke asked.
Outside the window, they could see the city still enveloped in a dark blue. Three men were playing a game of memory under the light of a single lantern, but if people didn’t know any better, it felt like they were engaged in some sort of dark ritual.
“They might be monitoring us, but they could still have a guard on standby,” Billy said. He flipped over the wrong pair. “It’s your turn.”
Zeke flipped some cards over. “Maybe they were being considerate not to disturb our sleep? Or something happened outside.”
Hadis took the sofa by the window, Igor was in the bedroom at the back, and Camila lay in the chair by the entrance. They couldn’t rest easy, but sleep was important.
“It’s hard to tell,” Lawrence said. “Since the Arks can’t use the dragons to fight at night, the empress candidate will head for Kratos around daybreak. This is around the time when they begin their retreat.”
“But it’s still too early for us to act,” Billy said. “Personally, I’d like to avoid a pathetic scenario where I’m saved by my daughter…unlike a certain Dragon Emperor over there!”
“We hear you, so stop shouting, old man,” Zeke grumbled.
“And what about you? Don’t you feel pathetic as Jill’s subordinate?”
“Captain’s way stronger than us. That bit’s true. I don’t think we can catch up to her either. The important thing is not to drag her down and save her when needed. We can’t let His Majesty push his limits.” As Zeke flipped over two random cards, they formed a pair, and he continued his turn. “And we gotta watch over you guys. You’re all enemies…” he said. “Tsk, wrong pair. You’re next.”
Lawrence tried to reach out and flip the cards over when he paused. He sensed a presence from beyond the door, and Zeke reached for his greatsword. Camila, who was asleep under a blanket, opened one eye. Only Billy lazily placed a hand on his chin.
“They don’t seem like huge threats,” he said. “Oh?”
A piece of paper slid between the gap of the door—the visitors made no attempt to knock or open it. Lawrence quickly flipped over all the cards and formed pairs before he stood up. Zeke tossed his cards on the ground with a groan, signaling that the Kratos strategist had won.
“You went easy on us, didn’t you?” Zeke accused.
“It’s no fun to end a match quickly,” Lawrence replied.
“It’s from the Gold Azure Dragon Wings,” Camila said as she picked up the paper. “‘We confirmed the Arks have retreated from the city. May the Dragon Emperor be victorious,’ it says.”
“They were involved with the queen, too,” Billy said. “Just what are they? Can we trust this group?”
“At the very least, I don’t think anyone would benefit from leaking false info to us,” Lawrence replied as he checked the paper.
Billy slapped his knees as he stood. “Then let’s blow this entire area up for now.” He began to do some stretches to warm up.
“Screw you!” Igor roared angrily as he opened his bedroom curtains. “I don’t know where my servants and Dragon Knights are being kept! Are you planning to blow them all away?! You musclehead buffoon! We should only destroy the spell on the door and confirm our situation first!”
“You’re always so nitpicky,” Billy replied. “Ugh, you Lehrsatzes are all the same…”
Suddenly, a powerful burst of light flooded through the gap in the curtains. Hadis immediately sat up. The light died down quickly, but Zeke grabbed his weapon and opened the curtain wide. The sky was turning lighter, but it was still quite dark outside.
“That must be Jill’s magical energy,” Billy observed. “It’s still a good distance away, though.”
“Which means the invasion of Kratos must’ve failed,” Lawrence said. “Then the Arks retreating must be true. Now then, where shall we go from—”
Hadis quietly stood up and warned, “Brace yourselves.”
Almost instantly, the manor contorted and tilted. It twisted and bent as Camila supported Igor, who was about to trip, and crouched low. Billy, on the other hand, seemed completely fine as he suddenly punched a nearby wall. The blow was angled upward and ripped through the walls and ceilings before tearing through the sky. As debris fell from above, Igor almost shrieked.
“Y-Youuuuu!” he cried.
“Guess that didn’t stop it,” Billy muttered sternly.
Everyone, including Hadis, looked up. The spear was still there, glimmering as brightly as the sun. It crackled and enveloped the entire manor in a barrier, absorbing more energy as it vibrated. The spear had absorbed Billy’s attack as well.
“The Sacred Spear? Will the Goddess appear in front of us?!” Zeke asked.
“That’s not the Sacred Spear,” Lawrence said wearily. “I don’t sense the presence of the Goddess.”
“Is that a fake spear that the Arks have forged, then?” Igor asked. “Good grief, they’re doing one bad act after another.”
“But that’s not a normal spear,” Camila pointed out. “It’s glowing so brightly, and I feel like it’s about to move at any moment!”
“It’s a spear meant to imitate the Sacred Spear as it uses energy from the Goddess,” Billy observed.
“Isn’t that just a Goddess already?” Zeke asked.
“Rar…” a tiny dragon groaned softly.
Everyone fell silent as Raw curled himself up into a tight ball. Hadis wrapped an arm around the Dragon King.
“Don’t worry,” Hadis said. “Just hold on for a little longer. Jill will come for us soon. Hang in there.”
“Your Majesty, we shall protect the Dragon King,” Igor said as he stepped forward. He raised the cushions on the sofa with his hands, and the Knights of the Dragon Consort stepped up behind him. “Please leave the rest to us. I wish you luck.”
Hadis couldn’t bring Raw along. He placed the tiny Dragon King onto a small pillow and stepped into the hole in the wall that Billy had created. Margrave Cervel stood beside the Dragon Emperor, earning Hadis’s glare.
“Are you planning on getting in my way?” Hadis asked.
“Oh, this is just part of my work,” Billy replied. “I wouldn’t want the people of the city to blame Kratos for this mess. Is that not so, Sir Lawrence?”
“Quite right,” Lawrence replied. “We’ll search for the queen. If that spear’s using energy from the Goddess, maybe we can think of a plan when the queen wakes up.”
“Do as you like. Just don’t drag me down,” Hadis said.
Billy laughed loudly. “Do you really think an item snapped by my daughter can’t be broken by her father?”
“You lost to me. Plus, your energy hasn’t fully returned. I can already tell that you’ll be useless.”
“Will you never speak to your father-in-law with respect?!”
Another flash of light illuminated the sky, cutting the exchange short. The vibrating spear slowly split into two, one wrapped in red and the other in blue light. Everyone had assumed the spear was black, but perhaps it was a shade of deep purple. Both spears held as much magic as the Sacred Spear, implying that there were now two Sacred Spears above them.
Rave, can you do it? Hadis asked. How much magic do you have left?
“About half. Yeah, this is gonna be a bit tough.”
This was a battle that didn’t involve love or logic—it was purely a battle of attrition. The two spears let off a golden light as they danced around together and aimed straight for Hadis. The Dragon Emperor gripped his Heavenly Sword and kicked the wall.