Chapter 51: True Reunion
Monsters that wield weapons are tricky to handle. Because they have intelligence—more or less—their danger level varies.
But what if the monster slayers had thoughtfully analyzed and had created suitable attack patterns beforehand?
"Mrs.Romanov, to the back. Lizardmen are tactful monster species. Their attack strategy is almost always the same. We are surrounded so please take care of the warrior Lizardmen on the back."
"Understood!"
"Mr.Romanov, to the right side. Be cautious to minimize sound and blood shed."
Swish!
"Miss Marina, aim for the archer Lizardmen if possible."
"Got it!"
"Sir Oscar, to the left. Mana missiles of your rank won't work on Lizardmen's tough scales, use 2nd circle magic on their eyes and the back of their knees."
"On it!"
"Eucee, come with me."
"As you wish."
Swoosh! Swish!
A good commander is always welcome in a tough battle. Especially when that commander is knowledgeable in Monsterlogy.
Bang! Boom! Clang! Kaang!
The sound of magic and sword aura going wild overcame the opponent's might easily in less than a few minutes.
"Humans!" The Lizarman in front glared at the humans running wild like beasts, cutting down his comrades.
"What the hell are you talking about? I am no human." Euclid's sword, wrapped with sword aura, pierced the monster's neck as his cool voice openly mocked the monster.
He then twisted his body, dodging a spear attack coming from above.
His gaze landed on the golden haired girl cutting down two Lizardmen with neat and elegant swordsmanship.
[You have Slayed a Lizardman C-]
[Core energy +0.5]
[You have Slayed a Lizardman C]
[Core energy +1]
She was busy collecting core energy.
Kyriaki glanced at her holy-looking system and flashed her golden eyes towards a Lizarman warrior, trying to sneak attack Oscar.
Swish!
Cadmus' Dragon Slayer turned into a whip-sword and sliced the Lizarman's head in one go. Noticing Kyriaki's help, Oscar smiled brightly.
"They say Lizardmen have dragon blood."
Perhaps because the battle no longer seemed like a battle thanks to strong allies, Oscar had time to entertain conversation.
"Not just them, drakes, wyverns, Hydra and many more monsters are said to be descendants of dragons." Marina expressed her knowledge of monsters with great interest.
But their topic was not a great choice as someone took great offence in their light conversation.
"That's nonsense." Euclid's cold voice, unusually clear, reached their ears in no time. "Dragons don't intercourse with other intelligent species, let alone have monster descendants. Your stupidity is all over the place."
When he openly displayed his displeasure as if he was personally offended, he didn't forget to slash at the Lizardmen like they were his greatest enemy.
The battle was already coming to an end, as the Lizardmen weren't above hundred in numbers to begin with.
"Hah…it's not like Dragons are real anyway." Oscar showcased his
The two leaves that looked like it was made from iron stabbed right through a Lizarman's reptilian eyes and dug deep mercilessly. His actions showed that he was annoyed by Euclid's statement. But just as those words left his mouth, he failed to notice how the Romanov couple visibly flinched.
"Ahem ahem." Mr. Romanov cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. He kept glancing at Kyriaki and Euclid.
Noticing his gaze, Kyriaki cut down another Lizardman wielding a sword and turned around, smiling gently.
"Why are you all talking about beings from myths and fairytales? Stop your childish imagination and focus on surviving." She spoke as if it was none of her business. Contrary to her gentle smile, her tone was indifferent.
"See?" Oscar, proud of her taking his side, puffed out his chest.
"It reminds me of a particularly famous Legend, You know The seven heroes and the demon king, right?"
"Ah, the one where a Golden Dragon makes a team of heroes to defeat the Demon King?"
"Yep. That legend is the reason for people to still believe in Dragons. After thousands of years, I wonder if they still exist."
Kyriaki's golden eyes gleamed at the mention of the story. So did Euclid's. Marina, who brought the story with the enthusiasm of a child dreaming of becoming a hero, didn't notice any of that. Within a few seconds, both hatchlings glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders, putting an end to the discussion.
And soon, the battle came to an end with the obvious victory to the survivors.
"We should avoid the Lizardmen's swamp. If the whole village decides to persuade us, we'll be in trouble." Kyriaki advised with her usual distance demeanour.
Mr.Romanov nodded his head, slicing up the monsters and collecting the Mana Cores carefully. He avoided monsters killed by Kyriaki and Euclid, not forgetting to diligently help the others to absorb the core energy to level up.
The reason he avoided Kyriaki's kills was because he found out from day one that she could absorb core energy while she was still in battle, unlike others. It was a mysterious power, but he thought anything might be possible for a golden dragon.
Later, he found out Euclid had similar powers to Kyriaki and calmly refrain from touching what Euclid slayed as well.
And in his case, where he was already at Mythic rank, a mere C rank monster did nothing to make him level up. Giving up Mana cores to those in need and nutritious them proved worthy as they kept growing. Oscar had already climbed up three sub ranks and Marina had also leveled up once.
Kyriaki observed the people running around and collecting the Mana cores leisurely and glanced at her system.
[You've been leveled up!]
[You rank has been upgraded to D+ > C-]
[Your Holy power stat has upgrade to D+ > C-]
[Your job(s) had been registered as
[Your job(s) had been registered as
A bright smile decorated her already beautiful face, making others stare at her in a daze. She was satisfied now. Although it became even harder to level up, she was certain that she was the only hatchling that had gone up on core ranks as if she was flying in the recent history of dragons.
"Hey, why are you disturbing our precious mana cores to four people? Mr. And Mrs. Romanov won't take those." Oscar exclaimed at Euclid, catching everyone's attention.
Kyriaki turned her head and glanced at Euclid, who was stubbornly making four portions of Mana Cores. She couldn't help but burst into laughter at that sight. It seemed the Romanov couple had already noticed what was going on as they remained quiet and calm, watching the situation.
"Don't you think it's time to show yourself? After going through all that trouble to help us in the shadows, are you going to stay hidden forever?" At her beautifully crafted voice, Oscar as well as other survivors looked at Kyriaki with question marks practically floating above their heads.
Kyriaki fixed her gaze on one spot, where a shadow was cast by a giant leaf of a poisonous plant. Euclid briefly glanced at another direction for a second and turned his head towards the same place Kyriaki was looking.
"Aww…I wanted to surprise you, though." A playful voice sang.
The next second, shadow under the plant flickered and a chunk of darkness rose up.
"Gasp!"
"A-a dark elf! A real dark elf!!"
"My goodness, it's my first time seeing an elf, let alone a dark elf!"
"Aren't dark elves rarer than light elves?"
"That's a child at that!"
Amidst all the exclamations, Long grey hair fluttered and long pointy ears twitched.
"Kyriaki!" The beautiful dark elven girl ran towards Kyriaki without hesitation. She clumsily tripped on her feet several times but it never hindered her will to go to Kyriaki at all.
Thud!
She jumped up and hugged Kyriaki like a koala hanging on a tree. It somewhat resembled Kyrios, except for the impact. It was less because of the difference between their physical strength. Thanks to that, Kyriaki was able to keep her balance and stroke the little girl's head without any difficulties.
"You seem fine, Levana." She deliberately spoke in the common language to the girl.
"Not really." Understanding her intentions, Levana replied back. Her common language wasn't any less inferior to the two hatchlings as she once lived in the Sea of Trees.
"I was really scared, you know? I finally found out I'm scared of ghosts. I had to run away so many times that my legs were on fire. Oh and—I got a few injuries too. Noir said I'll definitely die before meeting you, but hey, I'm not an assassin for nothing. I might be of low level, but I'm not stupid. Since this is not an EESOP mission I used all the artifacts and potions I had. Anyway, I see you are fine, Kyriaki. Well, it's not like I ever doubt you'd be in any trouble. You are you after all. Oh! Hello, Lord Euclid!"
As usual, Levana's rambling continued. Kyriaki, who was listening to her in silence as she stroked her head, smiled faintly. There was a subtle glow in her earrings that went unnoticed by most.
'Are all friends like this?'
It was odd but not unpleasant. To her, It felt like gaining another sibling.
"Yes, yes~ you are a clever assassin."
"My role model is Lord Ezekiel after all!"
"I see. But Levana, would you mind giving me some personal space?"
"Opss~" Levana's carefree smile was so beautiful that no one could rebuke her childish behavior. Kyriaki was surprisingly one of them. Since the day they became friends, Kyriaki felt an unusual connection to Levana. In a way that made her protective and gentle.
"This is my friend." Kyriaki turned to the people and gestured at Levana while tidying up her clothes neatly.
She introduced her not as a teammate, but as a friend. Levana, who didn't catch on the change, smiled brightly, but few people who caught on nodded and glanced at Kyriaki with strange eyes.
She had done an introduction once before when Euclid met them. However she only introduced him as her teammate. This time, the word she used to describe the young elven girl was quite interesting.
"Friend" of the mysterious girl who popped out of nowhere like a messenger of gods. And that friend was none other than a Dark Elf, something so rare that one could count on fingers the amount of Dark Elven population living among humans.
"Oh! humans! And beastkin too? Hello, I'm Levana Ruth Kesem, a friend and teammate of Kyriaki over here."
Her cheerful words and adorable rambling help people to ease their tension a bit.
"Well, I'll be back after a team meeting, please rest here for a bit." Kyriaki naturally took over the lead of their conversation and smiled at the relaxed people. Her gaze briefly landed on the empty air as her gaze swept over everything naturally.
"Oh yeah, if it's a team meeting…" Marina, looking back and forth between the three beautiful children muttered absentmindedly.
As others agreed without hesitation, Kyriaki turned around on her heels gracefully and left the scene. She walked past trees and bushes deep into the Void Forest they were currently in until she found a suitable place. Then she turned around and faced the people following her with detached eyes, as if it was someone else's business.
"I might not have said this is a team meeting before, but I've already lost two teammates, reducing this party to nothing more than an incompetent group of children. So don't mess around and properly listen to me."
Even her voice was totally indifferent. Although there was still an overwhelming elegance in it, the gentleness she occasionally displayed was nowhere to be seen.
Levana and Euclid looked at her in silence as if waiting for her to continue her speech. But Kyriaki frowned her brows instead.
She abandoned her indifferent attitude immediately as if proving her mood swingings wasn't a lie and glared at the empty space over the two of her teammates' shoulders.
"Hey, I said stop your nonsense and come out." It was beautiful yet an exhausted and irritated voice.
Levana looked over her shoulders. She didn't understand what was happening. While Euclid sneered, looking back as if he could see right through something no one could.
The space rippled without any sound. Silent like an owl's beating wings. The next moment, a very tall boy with light blue skin and a beautiful appearance emerged out of nowhere. Levana's grey eyebrows arched at the sight of the four armed Titan.
"Before you start. Let me give you some advice, Prince Erik. Don't even think about continuing your third rated shitty acting. Even my twin could act better than you, and he was the most innocent and naive cinnamon roll I've ever seen in my life."
Erik, who was about to open his mouth, shut it tightly as if he was attacked by a hammer from behind. His eyes looked like two teal colored full moons had replaced them.
Then an awkward smile took over his straight lips as his eyes returned to normal. It appeared that he had noticed something different about her.
"Isn't that annoyance too obvious, Your Royal Highness? Don't you think of hiding it a little?" He rubbed his lower lips, tilting his head forward as his eyes locked with Kyriaki's.
"Why? Would I benefit from that?" Kyriaki asked plainly, not hiding her emotions. Erik's smile turned bitter at that sight.
"Do you have invincibility?! Wow! This is unexpected!"
The one to break that awkwardness was ever so free spirited Elven girl. She had overcome her astonishment at a fast speed.
"No, I don't. I have the Rune of Illusion. I just wrapped myself in an illusion that blends with the surroundings. Like a camelon." Erik eagerly replied to his savior.
"But as expected, illusion magic doesn't work on dragons." He gave a sidelong glance at the two hatchlings.
Euclid and Kyriaki shrugged their shoulders. They had been aware of his presence the whole time. No, in fact, they saw right through his illusions as if they were merely looking at him like they did with everyone else. After all, dragons have Mind magic immunity. Illusion magic was a part of the Mind attribute.
It was quite uncomfortable when they made eye contact while eating, sleeping or in mid-battle. He didn't join them in anything they did, all he did was just watched them from a certain distance. Like a creepy ghost waiting for the right moment to possess a human body.
"It felt like you were trying so hard, so as promised I just ignored you." Said Kyriaki.
"Hmmm…true. It was somewhat uncomfortable every time I made eye contact with you, Your Highness. Frankly, I was a bit irritated." Euclid looked him up and down and blurted out. It was as if he wanted to do it for a long time. His voice matched his ice cold facial expression.
"By the way, I thought you didn't come with us, Your Highness" Levana tilted her head with a newfound question. "But it turned out it was your Rune magic."
"Oh yeah…" Erik awkwardly scratched the back of his head. The annoying and arrogant young prince was nowhere to be seen.
It was as if it too had been a mere illusion.
"Why did you do that?"
"That—"
"Do you have a strange hobby of practicing acting skills in real life situations?"
"No- that was—"
"Your Highness, I was terribly hurt by your acting, really."
"Ah, I—"
"But it's okay! Kyriaki said your acting was more terrible than my pain. So I don't mind as long as my friend isn't hurt."
"Pfft…Levana, stop. You are giving too much emotional damage to the pillar of our party." Holding back her laughter, Kyriaki finally came to Erik's rescue. After bombarding him with critical hit questions with such innocent curiosity, Levana obediently closed her mouth at the request of her friend.
"Now that we're all here, let me get to the point. Your Highness, are you going to keep acting like you did before? I understand that you were ordered to do so, but as you can see, the situation doesn't seem to be right for you to keep carrying out that order. We are out of manpower. Would you mind helping us out? In return, I'll turn blind eye to your crimes."
"Wh-what crimes?!" When Kyriaki took over Levana's place and bombarded him with more serious questions, all Erik could do was stutter helplessly.
As if she had been waiting for that, Kyriaki lifted her hand leisurely and counted with her fingers.
"The crime of deceiving a member of the Dragon Royal Family. The crime of refusing to give a helping hand without any justification when the dragon hatchlings were in need of help. Hmm…what else? Oh! The crime of spying on a member of the Royal Family. The crime of—"
"Okay! Okay!! I get it! Please stop!"
In the end, the one to lose was Erik.
"Then, what's your answer?"
"Hah…I'll help. It's not like I wouldn't. This is an embarrassing situation for me as well."
"Good." Kyriaki nodded in satisfaction.
"But, what are we going to do now?"
Erik tilted his head, asking with genuine curiosity. He had been with Levana in disguise for quite a long time until he met with Kyriaki's group. Thus he had no idea what the golden dragon had in her mind. All he knew was the fact that they might get rescued since Dragons have the authority to travel between dimensions.
"Titans are still as uninterested in worldly affairs and slow with information as ever." Kyriaki sighed. "The Prime-Dimensional Gate on the moon had changed its location to the Void Plane."
It was a shocking statement. Erik couldn't help but be surprised.
"When did that happen?"
"A week before this year's Crimson Moon."
"Ah…"
"We informed all the selected leaders of Mitherr-ge—including your father—of the changes. It seems he hadn't told you about it yet?"
Erik nodded. He wasn't the Crown Prince. Not yet. So the information he could gather was limited. Looking at his complicated expression, Kyriaki just shrugged her shoulders.
"Anyway, I suppose a rescue operation would be carried out by all Elder Dragons over fourth growth pace as they have the authority to open portals to other dimensions. There might be search parties roaming in all five planes by my father's orders by now. However, it'll take some time for them to find us. Meanwhile we are surrounded by all kinds of monsters. The death door is right in front of us. At this rate, our survival rate might drastically decrease."
"So as a measure, you are going to take action yourself, is that it?"
"Yes." Kyriaki agreed without hesitation.
"Approaching the Prime-Dimensional Gate to cross over to the Primal Plane is our only option?"
"Correct."
"It's dangerous, Your Royal Highness."
"I have useful tools."
"...tools?"
"Mhmm…The Wolf King and his Omega, for example."
Erik's eyes widened in an absurd turn of events.
"The wolf King?!"
"Yes."
"So the old wolf I saw earlier was The Wolf King?!"
"That's right."
"Damn…"
"Now that you know it, join my collection. And by the way, you can't just walk around in this form." Kyriaki looked at him from head to toe as if she was observing an interesting toy and blurted out indifferently.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It means your appearance is too unusual to others." Euclid, who had silently listened to their conversation until now, chimed in with an expressionless face.
"What's up with that guy?" Erik was taken aback by the cold treatment.
After all, the last time he saw him, Euclid was a cheerful and playful boy who fit his appearance very well. Yet now, he seemed like a different person. Levana too, seemed to sense that fact as she observed them from afar.
"Don't mind him, he has issues with his personality. Back to our topic, you must hide your identity if possible. Not forever. But until I grant permission. I'm already getting curious eyes just by being so young looking and having Elven friends, it's annoying."
"But I can't Polymorph like dragons do."
"Of course you can't. That's a unique bloodline ability. Therefore, why don't you use your Rune magic as you always do."
"My Rune Magic?"
"Rune of Illusions. You managed to blend in with the surroundings using it, no? You can create an illusion of yourself as a human child to deceive their eyes. Though, you won't be able to deceive the Wolf King's nose. Well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we need you at arms length to have an active conversation and exchange of opinions without being suspicious."
"Human child…" Erik muttered to himself, seriously considering her words. "I haven't done something like that before. Hmmm…Okay, I'll try my best."
After taking a deep breath with a determined look, Erik took a step back. He closed his eyes, fluttering his teal eyelashes. The golden rune on his left cheek glittered. In response, the collection of stars on his cheeks also shone like amber and diamond dust under the sunlight. It was like a fantasy dream only a reader could have after reading a beautiful Victorian fantasy with magic and heroes.
That sight was so breathtaking even Kyriaki was speechless.
Soon, a thick veil of vapor glittering with gold and silver enveloped the tall Titan. And like an invincible paint brush was at work, an image began to appear.
An image of a boy around eight or nine years old, with silky teal hair and mischievous teal eyes came to life. His skin was closer to a dark elf's as if to prove the blue had been soaked in a starless dusk. His freckles like diamond stars and delicate face was similar to Erik. Just as Kyriaki asked, he just presented his human version through illusions.
Kyriaki and Euclid could see through that illusion. Erik's every gesture was copied by the human body he created, like a poppet with strings. Even a subtle expression was the same.
To create that level of illusion, one must have to be not only smart and hardworking but also naturally gifted. It seemed that Erik was blessed with all three.
"Is it good?" The Human Erik asked.
"Yes, good enough." Kyriaki simply nodded.
"Wow, you're stingy with praise, aren't you?" Erik laughed heartily, his boyish voice and characteristic titan charm hadn't left him even as an illusion.
"But why do we have to hide our identity?"
"Safety reasons." Kyriaki answered flatly.
"If we are going to use the Prime-Dimensional Gate, that means our true identity will be exposed later anyway."
"I am going to reveal our identity later. But for now, we have to show them we aren't harmful to them and that we are on the same side. Also, I took it upon myself to observe if the survivors are trustworthy." When Kyriaki nonchalantly summarized her intentions, Erik stared at her for a while and bravely opened his mouth.
"You have trust issues, I see."
"Nonsense. I don't have trust issues, I only have 'I've seen this before and I know how it ends' issues."
Kyriaki's response was, as always, indifferent. But there was something about it that didn't seem like an excuse or a joke.
"Let's go…we have to survive."
Before Erik could grasp what was hidden beneath her blunt and indifferent words, Kyriaki walked past him with the elegance of a haughty cat, announcing their next actions.
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