"…What?"
The silence that followed was heavier and louder than the collective screams of the dying city. Everyone's heart skipped a beat, stuttering in their chests at the weight of Noa's reply.
The heroes had clung to a desperate hope, a delusion that Noa had killed Riku out of a twisted sense of revenge for the past—a motive they could at least understand. But the truth hit them like a falling mountain, shattering their logic into dust. He had done it simply because he could. He had done it for the fun of it.
Of course, it wasn't entirely for fun; Noa had seen the way Riku's eyes had lingered on Vionette, a perverted hunger that deserved to be extinguished. But that was merely a detail, a small coal in the furnace of his indifference.
I knew this would happen. How am I going to face his majesty? Fain stood amidst the wreckage, unsurprised but hollowed out. He had seen the way the winds shifted around those two, and he knew the political storm that would follow Riku's erasure would be catastrophic.
Vionette remained unbothered, her arms still draped around Noa from behind. She rested her porcelain face on his shoulder, her expression as calm as a frozen lake.
"I think we should be going soon," she murmured, her finger idly poking Noa's cheek.
She was already calculating the time it would take for the royal knights to descend upon Cerma like vultures.
Behind them, Hana was a portrait of desperation. She cast [High Heal] repeatedly, the golden light of her Aether flickering against the grey ash, hoping for a miracle that would never come.
Kaito stared at the remains of his friend, his mind a blank white canvas of shock, while Souka gripped her staff so hard her knuckles threatened to burst through the skin. Sayon alone stood unshaken, her eyes tracking the movement of the beast.
"Uhhh!"
A low, guttural mumble vibrated through the ground. The red dragon was finally stirring.
"Oh, finally. It's awake." Noa turned his back on the heroes, his voice bright with a sudden, casual cheer. "Now we can go back."
Noa and Vionette stood up, brushing the soot and debris from their clothes with practiced elegance. They walked toward the dragon, completely ignoring the heroes as if they were nothing more than static in the background of a much more important story.
"Hey. Get the hell up," Noa said, delivering a sharp kick to the dragon's massive snout with his tiny human leg. "We're leaving."
The dragon looked startled for a heartbeat, its golden eyes blinking in confusion until the memories of the pact and the fight crept back in.
"Uh, okay. Sorry to keep you waiting," it rumbled, its voice like shifting tectonic plates.
The others watched in stunned silence as the mountain of scales began to move.
Noa leaped onto the beast's back with a lithe, effortless motion, then reached down, extending a hand to Vionette. She took it with the grace of a princess ascending her carriage, her 'princess mode' fully engaged as she settled behind him.
The dragon's wings unfurled, a massive expanse of crimson leather that blotted out the sun.
WHOOOSH!
The first beat of those wings sent a gale through the ruins, nearly blowing the heroes off their feet.
"Oh yea, Mafus or something was it? Whatever." Noa looked down at Kaito as the dragon began to hover. "Tell your king that I'll be there to give him a greeting properly myself later. You see, we're low on time right now."
WHOOOSH!
The dragon ascended with a thunderous roar, a streak of red fire against the pale sky.
Noa… Noa… you— Kaito's grip tightened around his sword in a murderous hatred.
He finally understood that separating that madman from their class four years ago had been the only right decision. Noa didn't want revenge because Noa lived in a world where they didn't even matter enough to hate.
***
The red dragon soared above the borders of Cyradis, its scales catching the sunlight and casting flickers of fire across the landscape below. It moved with a steady, rhythmic power, cutting through the clouds like a hot blade through silk.
"Human, who is this?" the dragon asked, tilting one massive eye back toward the two riders.
It had woken in a daze and flown on command, but it was only now realizing it didn't know its second companion.
"This is my partner, Vionette, the ruler of Crimvane," Noa said, gesturing toward her with both hands.
"Crimvane? You're rebuilding that kingdom?" The dragon's voice was filled with a low, vibrating curiosity.
"Yes," Vionette answered, her voice carrying clearly over the rushing wind. "If you do not find it to your liking, we will not force you to stay."
She wanted no slaves in her court; she wanted only the steel of true loyalty.
"No, it's good actually," the dragon replied, turning its focus back to the horizon. "To rise with a kingdom… that is a worthy story."
"Do I have to change my heading to Crimvane?"
"Yes."
The beast adjusted its flight path with a slow, deliberate tilt, ensuring the two on its back weren't swept away by the mounting winds.
"By the way, did you guys find my horn? I think it was broken mid-battle." It glanced at the massive, jagged horn Noa was currently holding in his lap.
"Well, something like that," Noa said, his eyes darting away guiltily. "You don't want it back, right?"
"No. It will grow back in time."
"GOOD!" Noa grinned, patting the trophy.
…
Faster than they expected, the borders of Crimvane appeared below. From this height, the kingdom looked like a meticulously crafted map in a video game—pockets of dense, stone buildings interspersed with sprawling, lush grasslands.
"Hey! You can turn into a human form, right?" Noa asked, recalling his knowledge of various webcomics.
"Yes, do not worry about it."
SWROOOM!
The dragon folded its wings and dived, gaining terrifying speed as it aimed for the heart of the royal castle. Below them, the city erupted in panic.
"What… is that?"
"A dragon?"
Civilians scrambled, their shadows fleeing as the massive silhouette eclipsed the sun.
In the castle garden, the royal knights gathered, weapons drawn to defend their home. Even with their commander away in Eryndor, they stood their ground, their armor clanking in a frantic rhythm of preparation.
[It's me, you idiots. Get back to work.]
The voice rang inside the knights' heads, cold and unmistakable. It was Vionette's [Thought Communication] skill. Unlike her link with Noa, this skill drained her Aether, and her irritation was palpable.
[Y-your majesty?] the knights stuttered, their confusion instantly morphing into rigid discipline. [Ahem! By your will!]
[Stop repeating the same shit,] she snapped back.
As the kingdom watched, the dragon closed in on the garden, erupting in a blinding flash of light that forced everyone to shield their eyes. When the light faded, the beast was gone.
Step.
Step.
Noa and Vionette both landed on the grass and looked back.
In the dragon's place stood a young woman around fourteen years old, her petite and slim frame holding a quiet, unmistakable presence. Her hair was styled in a layered, voluminous wolf cut that fell past her shoulders, the deep black strands fading into a red at the edges. Side-swept bangs and long face-framing sidelocks brushed against her cheeks, highlighting her striking golden-amber eyes with their vertical slit pupils. From her head, dark, polished horns swept backward, blending naturally into the textured layers of her hair.
She wore a sleek, tailored gown of deep charcoal fabric with faint crimson undertones and a modest, contemporary neckline. The skirt featured layered, flowing panels, cut shorter at the front to reveal her knees while draping into a regal, practical train at the back. Extending from the small of her back, a slender crimson dragon tail swayed with rhythmic precision, its scales catching the light.
Her arms were clad in detached, armor-like gauntlet sleeves with metallic edging, leaving a small gap of skin at the shoulders. Completing the look, she wore sleek, low-heeled shoes paired with fitted knee-high socks that matched the gown's dark accents.
"Allow me to introduce myself formally," she said, bowing with a refined grace. "I am Elina, a red dragon."
"Yea, ok," Noa said.
"Whatever," Vionette added.
Both of them had already started walking toward the castle doors, having seen all they needed to see.
"HEY! WHAT GIVES?" Elina shouted, her noble composure shattering as she clenched her fists.
Why did I get my hopes up? Noa exhaled, thinking of all the cool dragon-kin he'd seen in stories.
Of course it's a loli older than two centuries, Vionette thought, rolling her eyes as she led the way inside.
***
"High Heal."
"High Heal."
"High Heal."
[Report: Failed!]
[The soul had already been devoured to the #&%^. Revival is impossible unless %^*# allows it.]
Hana continued her frantic, rhythmic chanting, her Aether nearly spent. She was chasing a ghost, hoping for a ray of light in a tunnel that had been collapsed. But there was nothing left to heal; the only part of Riku that remained was his head.
The others watched with hollow expressions. Souka gritted her teeth, her eyes swimming with unshed tears and rage. Kaito's grip on his sword was so tight the metal groaned. Sayon and Fain watched the display from the edge of the crater.
"I knew this would happen." Fain spoke to Sayon, his voice a ragged whisper. "That's why I tried to stop them. Yet, I couldn't stop them."
He wasn't worrying about the prideful 'heroes' in that moment. Fain knew they held the titles, but they were essentially the same as anyone else; his true worry was for his city.
Unlike other nobles who craved power, he had been trying to protect his people from the very beginning. He hadn't cared what happened to his own life or status if it meant keeping his citizens breathing. It was this singular devotion that had made it so easy for Vionette to take control of him; he was a man with a heart, and a heart is a handle a serpent can always grip.
If they had met at a different time, Vionette would've respected him. He was just... unlucky today.
"Do you know who those two were?" He looked at Sayon.
Sayon maintained her blank expression, but inside, even she felt a small, cold weight of sadness at seeing her friend die. Even she had a heart buried beneath the cold face.
"The man was Noa. The one that made an uproar in the royal castle four years ago," she said, not turning her head. "I don't know about the woman."
"That was him?"
Fain was reminded of the wanted posters that had flooded the continent four years ago—the story of a kid who had escaped the heart of a kingdom on his own, even without an Essence Fragment.
"They must be working together. Or," Sayon pictured the way they leaned into one another, "they can be even closer."
"Most likely. The way they acted amidst a mountain of corpses… it is more than a partnership."
While the two continued to gather information and tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together, a different fire was smoldering nearby.
Noa… you… how dare you kill someone of my party? How… how dare you try to make a fool out of me?
Kaito's eyes burned with a dark, suffocating anger. His grip on his sword began to tremble, his teeth gritting together so hard the sound was audible. Pride still followed him like a shadow—the toxic pride of being called a 'hero.'
"Noa… you little. I'll teach you a lesson next time," Souka muttered.
She was also consumed by anger, her tears of grief for Riku hardening into a sharp, brittle resentment.
A frog that sees the sky from the mouth of a well believes it has climbed to the top of the world. But the moment it understands the world extends far beyond those stone walls, its arrogance curdles into something far uglier. This was what Vionette had said to Souka—that they were merely frogs in a well, finally learning their own place in a world that didn't care for their titles.
If used correctly, such a realization becomes wisdom. If exposed, it turns into the greatest weakness. But it was already too late—the frog's scent had already been claimed by the serpent.
As the old saying in Mythara goes: "Every so often, the moon turns crimson and the stars quietly fade beneath the black sky."