"Oh? Do tell. I'm starting to get curious about the history between you two."
Mohg couldn't help but let a small smile slip.
"Hmph. That brat spent the entire war hiding behind the Dragon Mother's back, hurling insults at me!" Lansseax ground her teeth audibly.
"Wait... hiding behind the Dragon Mother?" Mohg looked at her, momentarily baffled. That was a lot of information to process. It implied that this specific Flying Dragon had somehow caught the eye of Elder Dragon Greyoll—enough to earn her protection during the war with the Ancient Dragons.
Sensing his thoughts, Lansseax shook her head. "It's not what you think. That little lizard doesn't have the talent to be 'favored' by Greyoll. She's just a Flying Dragon with perfectly average potential."
"Then why...?"
"Because that is Greyoll's role as the Mother of Dragons. It is her duty to protect the brood, and it's the primary reason so many Flying Dragons remain loyal to her. She might not have wanted to protect every single hatchling, but back then, my eldest brother had her pinned down, so she had no choice but to shield what she could."
"Your brother... right, Gransax." Mohg nodded. "Come to think of it, Gransax was even larger than Greyoll, wasn't he? Why didn't you just finish them off?"
"For one, the situation in Caelid was complicated. For another, power isn't measured solely by size. The Dragon Mother, much like another 'Flying Dragon' out there, possesses the most ancient of draconic bloodlines. The techniques she commands are far more sophisticated than the simple strikes of the modern drakes."
Mohg paused. He didn't immediately catch who she meant by "another Flying Dragon," but then it hit him: Bayle the Dread, the tyrant of the Jagged Peak in the Land of Shadow.
Bayle was a powerful drake capable of rivaling the Dragonlord himself. In fact, he looked almost nothing like a standard Flying Dragon anymore, wielding a unique form of "Flame Lightning." While some drakes on the Jagged Peak inherited a fraction of that power, not a single one in the Lands Between possessed it.
Lansseax likely meant that Greyoll possessed a unique power of her own—perhaps something like the legendary Greyoll's Roar. Her point was valid: if size equaled absolute power, the Fire Giants would never have been defeated, and Placidusax wouldn't be the Dragonlord.
"So, does Greyoll still look after her?"
"If she did, do you think I'd be talking to you about this? Besides, why do you think I never found an opportunity to settle the score before now?"
"Uh... because you didn't dare enter the Dragon Mother's territory?"
A vein throbbed on Lansseax's forehead. "Nonsense! It's because I couldn't act within her domain! Our two factions had to maintain a level of restraint!"
"And now you can because... right, you're technically not part of the Ancient Dragon faction at the moment."
"Exactly! So let's stop waiting. I can't wait to give that brat a thrashing and haul her back for some proper 'training'!"
Mohg laughed, finding himself in full agreement. He was just as eager to secure some free labor for the Dynasty.
BOOM.
Aeboral flapped her wings and landed on the grassy plateau, squinting her eyes in contentment. In this part of Caelid, as long as she didn't do anything stupid like approaching the southwestern region, she was usually safe.
Why the southwest? Because that was where the Dragon Communion hunters prowled. They were a formidable lot, and because they had ties to various Caelid factions and moved stealthily, the Flying Dragons had a hard time pinning them down.
Greyoll could do nothing against those hunters except warn her brood to stay within their designated territory. As one of the more "cautious" drakes, Aeboral took those warnings to heart. She rarely left the nest, only occasionally flying out to the fringes to scare travelers, snatch a few livestock, or enjoy a change of pace for her diet. Today was just another routine outing for a bit of fun.
Hmph—
Snorting a puff of white steam from her nostrils, Aeboral lifted her head to scan the area for a suitable target. Then... she saw them. Two figures, a man and a woman, walking straight toward her family's territory.
A giant question mark practically appeared over Aeboral's head. She couldn't wrap her brain around it. Why would anyone walk toward the region controlled by Flying Dragons? While it wasn't a total wasteland, the human population there was sparse.
True, there were human cities within the dragon territories, but they weren't strictly human cities. They were multi-racial settlements that paid tribute to the dragons in exchange for the right to exist.
Were these people stupid for paying such a price? Not at all. There was a fortune to be made in dragon territory: rich mineral deposits, untouched forests, and unique draconic resources. It was common knowledge that forging a legendary weapon required not just a master smith, but superior materials. One of the main exports of the region was the shed scales and teeth of growing dragons.
The Flying Dragons tolerated this trade. These "fragile" scales were discarded because they could no longer protect the dragons' growing bodies. What did it matter if humans used them to make weapons? The dragons were arrogant, secure in their massive numbers and even more massive bodies. They didn't fear the humans of Caelid.
And so, Aeboral flew toward the two strangers. In her mind, no one in this territory—not even a Dragon Communion hunter—would dare to provoke the majesty of a Flying Dragon!
"Lansseax... is that Aeboral flying right at us?"
"Yeah... wait, WHAT?!"
Lansseax had been looking on nonchalantly, but when she realized the drake was actually accelerating toward them, her brain stalled for a second.
"She's not running? She's coming to us?!"
"Haji-A, this girl..."
"What kind of name is that?" Lansseax looked at Mohg, confused again.
"Ahem, don't worry about it. Bottom line... let's take her down!"
"Let's do it!"
As the words left their lips, Lansseax lunged forward. Simultaneously, Mohg beat his wings with a violent force. The ground beneath them shattered like brittle chocolate, sending out two distinct white shockwaves. The sheer pressure of their takeoff bent the surrounding trees and grass to the breaking point.
Aeboral, who had been feeling quite smug a moment ago, finally realized something was wrong. Those two "ants" were moving toward her at an unscientific speed. They were... they were flying?!
Before Aeboral could process the threat, Mohg and Lansseax were upon her. Mohg manifested a massive Crucible Claw wreathed in golden flames and slammed it into Aeboral's skull. The impact echoed across the sky like a thunderclap.
"RAWR!"
Dragon blood sprayed into the air. Aeboral's substantial body plummeted toward the earth like a fallen meteor.
CRASH!
Mohg looked down at the massive cloud of dust and then turned to Lansseax. Without a word, Lansseax's wings beat once, and her human form vanished. In its place, a black Ancient Dragon, nearly twice the size of Aeboral, manifested in the sky.
Mohg was the one who was baffled now. When they were underground, Lansseax had been white. Why did she now look so much like the "Death Dragon" Fortissax?
ROAR!!!
Lansseax let out a deafening draconic cry and dove toward the downed Aeboral. Finally snapping out of her daze, Aeboral let out a high-pitched shriek that didn't sound like a dragon at all. She scrambled frantically on all fours, her heart nearly stopping in terror.
She had never seen a dragon of this species before, but the aura of death emanating from it was unmistakable. Run! What happened to dragon pride? Pride is for non-dragons! Losing to one's own kind isn't embarrassing... right?!
THUD!
Lansseax wasn't about to let her prize escape. She landed heavily on top of Aeboral, her claws pinning the drake's wings to the dirt. With her forelimbs, she shoved Aeboral's head deep into the mud.
"Whimper... whine..."
Mohg almost burst out laughing. This was not the image of a dragon he had in his head—especially not with the way Aeboral was begging for mercy.
Lansseax, on the other hand, was ecstatic. The rush of finally getting her revenge... who could understand it? Especially since the brat had once taunted her to her face!
"ROAR! I told you! You should have prayed you'd never fall into my hands!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Aeboral's eyes went wide. She began to struggle violently. If her plan before was to beg for time so her kin could save her, now her only hope was that she could somehow break free or that Lansseax would have a sudden change of heart.
"Lansseax, you old hag! Let me go!!"
"Does that sound likely to you? My dear Miss Aeboral~"
"Alright, save whatever you've got planned for when we get back," Mohg said, hovering over the pinned drake.
"Get back? Get back where? What are you going to do to me?!" Aeboral's alarm bells were ringing.
"Don't worry. It'll happen in the blink of an eye. You won't be hurt. Well... for now."
"For now?! No, wait! I think everything is negotiable!!" Aeboral looked at Mohg with pure terror. Seeing how much Lansseax had changed, her mind was filling with some very dark imagery. "No! I don't want to be dyed in your colors!"
Mohg's face darkened at the phrasing. Lansseax just laughed. "Gwahahaha! You can't escape!!"
"Enough. We're heading back!"
Mohg waved his hand, and the ground beneath Aeboral's feet liquified into a massive blood pool. As it began to swallow her, Aeboral struggled with renewed desperation, but she was powerless against Lansseax's overwhelming strength. She couldn't even beat Mohg in his current state, let alone a fully-transformed Lansseax.
Once Aeboral was fully submerged, Mohg signaled for Lansseax to follow.
"You go first. I see a few 'old friends' coming this way; I think I'll stay and catch up with them!"
"Fine. If things look bad, contact me immediately. I can force a connection to the Mother to open a temporary pool for you."
"Won't that take a toll on you?"
"Just a bit of Faith energy. It's no big deal."
Mohg nodded and dove into the blood pool. He needed to get back and make sure the dragon didn't cause a scene.
Back at the Mohgwyn Dynasty stronghold, Aeboral emerged from the blood pool looking utterly dazed. She scanned the surrounding soldiers, and after a moment of stunned silence, a cruel smirk began to form on her snout.
"You dare treat the great Aeboral like this! You puny—"
BAM!
"Puny what?"
Mohg, having appeared above her, slammed her head back into the blood pool with a Crucible Claw. He walked up to her with a pleasant smile. Aeboral's entire body shivered, and she silently buried her face back into the crimson depths.
Mohg chuckled. Well, she's certainly cooperative.
With a wave of his hand, countless chains of congealed blood surged from the pool, binding Aeboral tightly. After a few futile attempts to break free, the dragon adopted a "dead fish" expression, her eyes staring blankly at nothing. Fine. Do whatever you want. This child is exhausted.
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (512 Chapters – Full)
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