Chương 38: Frogs in a Well

"… What?" The silence that followed was louder than the 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 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 his own amusement. I knew this would happen.

How am I going to face His Majesty now? Fain stood amidst the wreckage, unsurprised but entirely hollowed out. He had seen the way the winds shifted around those two, and he knew the political storm that would follow Riku's death 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 calculating the time it would take for the royal knights of Cyradis to descend upon Cerma like vultures. Behind them, Hana was a portrait of desperation as she knelt near what remained of Riku—only his blood. She cast [High Heal] repeatedly, the 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 fallen beast.

"Uhhh!" A low, guttural rumble vibrated through the ground. The 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 walked toward the dragon, but seeing Vionette still sitting on the ground, he stopped and looked back at her.

"Aren't you coming? Get up."

"My legs are exhausted after running so much through the mansion." Vionette looked up at him with an amused, feline smile as she extended her arms toward him.

"Move me." Noa let out a sigh before walking back to her. He leaned down, slid one arm behind her back and the other beneath her thighs, and lifted her into his arms. She leaned her head against his chest with a satisfied smile as Noa carried her back toward the dragon.

"Hey! Get the hell up!" Noa barked, delivering a solid kick to the dragon's massive snout with his human leg.

"We're leaving." The dragon looked startled for a heartbeat, its golden eyes blinking in confusion until the memories of the agreement 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 rise. Noa leaped onto the beast's back, making Vionette's hair bounce, though he ensured the landing didn't jostle her roughly. The dragon's massive wings unfurled; the first beat of those wings sent a gale through the ruins, nearly blowing the heroes off their feet.

"Oh yeah, Mafus or something, was it? Whatever." Noa looked down at Kaito with a smirk as the dragon began to hover.

"Tell your king I'll pay him a proper visit later. You see, we're a little low on time right now." WHOOOSH! The dragon ascended with a thunderous roar, becoming a streak of red fire against the pale sky. Noa… Noa… you— Kaito's grip tightened around his hilt with murderous hatred. He confirmed that separating that madman from their class four years ago had been the only right decision. Noa didn't want revenge, because Noa now lived in a world where they didn't even matter enough to be hated.

The red dragon soared above the borders of Cyradis, its scales catching the sunlight and casting flickers of fire across the landscape below.

"Human, who is this?" the dragon asked, tilting one 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.

"And now, you're Crimvane's first dragon."

"Crimvane? You're rebuilding that kingdom?" The dragon's voice was filled with a low, vibrating curiosity. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Yes," Vionette answered, her voice carrying clearly over the rushing wind.

"If you don't find it to your liking, we will not force you to stay."

"No, it's good, actually," the dragon replied, turning its focus back to the horizon.

"To rise with a kingdom… that is something someone I knew wanted to do. Anyway, do I need to change the direction towards Crimvane, then?"

"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 horn Noa was currently resting in his lap.

"Well, something like that." Noa's eyes darted away guiltily.

"You don't want it back or anything… right?"

"No. It will grow back in time."

"GOOD!" he grinned, patting his new 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—before they finally reached the capital city.

"Hey! You can turn into a human form, right?" Noa asked with a shout over the wind.

"Yes, don't worry about it." SWROOOM! The dragon folded its wings and dove, gaining speed as it aimed straight for the royal castle. Below them, the city erupted in panic as the citizens saw the massive silhouette eclipse the sun, casting a vast shadow over the streets.

"What… is that?"

"A dragon…?!" In the castle gardens, the royal knights quickly gathered, weapons drawn to defend their home. Even with their commander away in Eryndor, they stood their ground, their armor clanking in a rigid rhythm of preparation. [It's me, you idiots. Get back to work.] The voice rang inside the knights' heads. It was Vionette's [Thought Communication] skill. Unlike communicating with Noa using [A Match Made in Hell], this skill drained her Aether when used, and her irritation was palpable. [Y-Your Majesty?] the knights stuttered, their confusion instantly morphing into disciplined relief. [Ahem! By your will!] [Stop repeating the same shit!] As the kingdom watched, the dragon closed in on the royal garden, erupting in a blinding flash of light that forced everyone to shield their eyes. When the light faded, the beast was gone. Noa and Vionette both landed gracefully on the grass and looked back.

In the dragon's place stood a girl around fifteen years old, her petite and slim frame still radiating a draconic presence. Her hair was styled in a wolf cut that fell past her shoulders, the deep black strands fading into a vivid red at the edges, perfectly highlighting her golden-amber eyes with their vertical, slit pupils. 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 train at the back. Extending from the small of her back, a crimson dragon tail swayed in rhythm, its scales catching the sunlight.

"Allow me to introduce myself formally," she said, curtsying with a refined grace.

"I am Elina, a red dragon."

"Yeah, okay," Noa said with a blatantly disappointed expression.

"Whatever," Vionette added with the exact same deadpan face. Both of them had already turned and started walking toward the castle doors, having seen all they needed to see.

"HEY! WHAT GIVES?!" Elina shouted, her composure completely shattering as she clenched her small fists. Why did I get my hopes up? Noa exhaled, mourning all the cool, imposing dragon-kin he'd read about in fantasy novels. Of course it's a loli older than two centuries, Vionette thought, rolling her eyes as she led the way inside.

"GET BACK OVER HERE!"

"High Heal. High Heal. High Heal." [Report: Failed!] [The soul has already been devoured to the #&%^. Revival is impossible unless %^# allows it.] Hana continued her frantic chanting, her Aether nearly spent. She was chasing a ghost, desperately hoping for a ray of light in a tunnel that had already collapsed. But there was nothing left to heal; the only part of Riku that remained in this reality was his blood. The others watched with varying expressions.

Souka gritted her teeth, her eyes swimming with unshed tears and burning rage; Kaito's grip on his sword was so tight the metal groaned, while Sayon and Fain watched the bleak display from afar.

"I knew this would happen." Fain spoke to himself, his voice a ragged whisper.

"That's why I tried to stop them. Yet, I couldn't." He wasn't worrying about the prideful 'heroes' in that moment. Fain knew they held titles, and he also knew what those titles made them; his true worry was for his city and its people. Unlike other nobles who craved political power, he had been trying to protect his people from the very beginning, and that was why he was still a count. He never 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.

"Do you know who those two were?" He looked over at Sayon. Sayon maintained her blank expression, but inside, even she felt a small weight of sadness at seeing her teammate die. Even she had a heart buried beneath her robotic exterior.

"The man was Noa. The one who escaped four years ago," she said, not turning her head.

"Don't know the woman."

"That was him?" I remember the wanted posters that flooded the continent four years ago—the story of a kid who escaped the heart of a kingdom on his own, even without an Essence Fragment like these heroes possess.

"They must be working together. Or," Sayon pictured the intimate way they had leaned into one another, "closer."

"Most likely. The way they acted amidst a mountain of corpses… it is far more than a partnership." While the two continued to gather information and piece the puzzle together, a different kind of fire was smoldering nearby. Noa… you… how dare you kill a member of my party? How… how dare you try to make a fool out of me? Kaito's eyes burned with a suffocating, blinding anger. His grip on his sword began to tremble, and he gritted his teeth so hard the grinding sound was audible.

Pride still followed him like a shadow—the toxic, unearned 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 brittle, spiteful resentment. A frog that views the sky only from the bottom of a well believes it has climbed to the top of the world. But the moment it understands that the world extends far beyond those damp stone walls, its arrogance curdles into something far uglier.

This was exactly what Vionette had meant—that they were merely frogs in a well, finally learning their place in a world that didn't care for their titles. If used correctly, such a harsh realization becomes wisdom. But if exploited, it turns into a fatal weakness. But it was already too late for them to choose a path—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."