“Clem...”
Nadia called her lover’s name as she stood before the ice dragon, which still struggled against its icy chains. Since having lost her first love, Nadia had remained in an extended state of mourning until Clemens had taught her what it meant to once again find love. However, while the two had nursed feelings of mutual affection for one another, they had not immediately come together as a couple. As a young man, Clemens had been unable to bear the weight of Nadia’s past and her true identity, while Nadia had been unable to let go of her guilt from the past, even with Clemens there before her.
A decade had passed, and then some, before their hearts had finally found a harmony of being. Yet now, the man she had come to love hovered in a space between life and death. He had put up a strong front, and promised to survive, but the odds were at best fifty-fifty. Through the uprising that had destroyed her home, Nadia had seen countless lives lost, and she understood the reality of Clemens’s situation.
Would she lose him? The pain of the thought wrenched at her heart, the fear of that potential reality gripping her. And yet she remained eerily cool and clear of mind.
“Never forget your feelings, but always remain calm.”
It was a lesson she had learned as one destined to marry into the royal family, and it was still carved into her person even twenty-six years later. It was a necessary mindset to survive harsh environments, and indeed, it was how the young Nadia had survived even after she had lost everything—her identity, her family, and the nation she had once called home. No matter how terrified she felt, and no matter how enraged she became, she never lost her cool. Now was not the time to be crying over the body of her lover. Nor was it the time to be hunting down the man who shot him to mete out vengeance.
Clemens had promised her he would survive, and that promise bloomed like a flower to give her hope as she faced down the dragon before her. Magical energy swirled around her person, sending her hair, her earrings, and her cloak whipping all around her.
The magic Nadia was capable of had been hidden from the royal family when she was a child, then known as Nadianna. Her nation and its king had conscripted even young children into its military as it looked to invade its neighbors. Bribery, betrayal, and assassinations had run rampant as the nobility stood opposed to this conscription, and many had fled across the border with their children.
Nadia had wielded magical power that was among the greatest in the nation, but even then, she was otherwise powerless. To fool the royal family, Nadia’s family had lied about her abilities, and so children like her were never taught to fight. To use magic was to reveal your secret, and so parents had to hide their children’s magic in order to protect them. But for Nadia, who as a member of the nobility was tasked with one day leading the general populace, being powerless and under someone else’s protection was a near unbearable humiliation.
Had it been her choice, she would have fought alongside her father and older brother.
However, over time, the uprising, which had been intended to free the nation from the grip of the royal family, became twisted. The focus of it shifted from fighting against the royal family to purging the entire ruling class. The nobles who fought alongside the general populace found themselves betrayed by their former allies, and many were put to death. Nadia was a sheltered daughter of the nobility, and there was almost nothing she could do—after all, she could not even tell friend from foe.
It was for this reason that Nadia’s father and brother decided to send her and her older sister across the border, together with many of the nation’s young people. Defending their nation was one thing, but defending their people—and defending the future of their children—was far more important. Thus, the country came to ruin, and the nation which rose in its place fell under the rule of a dictatorship, its leader the past hero of the revolution.
And to this day, those who had fled elsewhere were still trying their hardest to make the most of the lives they had.
Nadia’s father, her brother, and many others like them had sacrificed themselves for their people and their children. But what of the Dolgast Empire? Even in the aftermath of its fall from grace, it still menaced so many, even going as far as resurrecting an age-old monster in its attempts to wrest back the future.
“But I will not let them have their way,” uttered Nadia. “We live our lives for ourselves, and I will not let anyone take that freedom from us.”
She was no longer the young girl she’d once been, lacking in knowledge and completely helpless. She was a mage with the power to control and wield the powerful magics within her. She saw Alec then, a fire blazing in his dark magenta eyes, and the hint of a smile rose to her lips. If she had wed as had long ago been intended, he would have become her younger brother-in-law. That day would never come to pass, however, and now he was simply a firm friend. He, too, knew how to fight his own battles—he was no longer a powerless young boy who knew only how to run from his troubles.
“Let’s end this! Now! I’ve had enough of tragedy!” he shouted.
“Agreed!” she called back.
The hood of Nadia’s cloak blew free, her tie coming loose and her hair streaming out behind her.
“Playtime is over!” she cried. “Now be a good child and go to sleep!”
Countless glittering spears formed from the magical energy that overflowed from her fingertips, and they came raining down upon the dragon as it shook its head in protest. The ice spears streamed down upon the beast mercilessly, stabbing into flesh unprotected by scales. Blood streamed out from the wounds and sparks flew through the air as shocks ran through the monster. The dragon let out a high-pitched scream not unlike that of an infant.
In the dragon’s roar was its deep-rooted despair, and Nadia’s heart ached to hear it. She knew such feelings far too well. At the same time, she knew that it was not her place to comfort the dragon, and so while there was a modicum of sympathy in her heart, she did not hold back.
The ceaseless rain of ice spears and electric shocks soon changed to giant stakes of ice, which struck at the same time as thunderous lightning. The deafening roar of the attack forced the dragon’s head low, its scales sent flying in every direction as the stakes ran through the soft flesh and nailed the dragon to the ground. For one brief instant, Nadia’s magical power overwhelmed the dragon’s own. Nearby adventurers cried out in astonishment.
“Whoa!”
“She’s crushing it!”
“Now! Cut it down!”
Adventurers and knights alike raised their weapons to strike, but the dragon was still not ready to sleep, and it roared like a child throwing a tantrum, even as it remained pinned to the ground. Fire swirled around it, melting the icy bindings that held it in place.
“What...?!”
“How can it still fight?!”
“Keep the freezing spells going!”
But fewer than half the mages were able to respond. Many had exhausted their magical reserves several times over, and this exhaustion had robbed them of their focus and mental fortitude. The few that did cast spells gave it their all but, as a result, were barely able to remain standing. With their recovery potions almost completely used up, there was every chance that a prolonged battle might leave all of them dead even before their reinforcements arrived.
The dragon roared once more, and its magical energy formed a fireball in the sky that came hurtling towards the adventurers like a searing comet. With their magical energies dwindling, the mages’ barriers were useless, and an explosion rocked the battlefield along with pained cries.
“Master!”
“Zack!”
The source of the cries revealed that Zack had thrown himself in front of his companions to protect them. His greatsword had not been enough on its own, however, and the clothing covering his right arm drifted away in the form of ashes, revealing the burns he’d taken head-on. His body wavered, supported by his sword, and his shoulders heaved as he let out a deep breath. He was the dragon slayer, but with his right arm so badly scorched, he would not wield his weapon again.
This was the true power of a dragon.