The city of Grucius was the second largest city in the human Kingdom of Baran.
It was a lively, well populated city that was frequented by traveling merchants and adventures alike.
Currently, the city was celebrating its 100th annual ‘Festival of the Brilliant Lights.’
The festival was seen as a time to honor the warriors who perished valiantly fighting the disgusting demons as well as to pray for a new chosen with the legendary divine affinity to appear.
The divine affinity was rumored to be light magic so pure and unsullied that it could burn away thousands of demons with a single spell.
Naturally many weren’t sure of the legend’s authenticity, but many enjoyed coming to the festival year after year nonetheless.
The evening was just getting underway. The city lord stood on a large wood podium looking out amongst the crowd of men, women, and children and smiled in utter bliss.
He’d been working a lot of overtime lately and this night was exactly what he needed to unwind his tired old bones.
‘Maybe I should go into the dungeon and visit a Demi human slave or two before I go back home for the night.’ The man thought with a perverted grin.𝑶𝒱xt.𝐜𝓜
He hadn’t felt so alive in months and he couldn’t think of a better way to release the stress than the pretty punching bags he’d ‘collected’ from his travels.
“Alright is everyone ready?!” After cementing his plans for later in his mind he began to get the crowd ready for the toast before the massive feast began.
Seeing all of his citizens smiling so attentively he once again smiled before he began his fervent prayer.
“Asherah our mother! We pray to you and ask you for-“
“Mommy look!”
Suddenly, a child’s loud cry cut through the crowd and everyone faced the direction his small finger was pointing.
There everyone could see an enormous dragon approaching in the distance whose black scales were glowing with an eerie purple light.
His four large wings looked equally fearsome and destructive and the winds produced by a single flap was enough to destroy the trees below.
Upon seeing the light reverberating from his scales, the humans gained a glimpse into a true hell.
One by one as if they were mesmerized, the crowd began to get agitated and violent and began shoving eachother with increased force.
As the dragon came flying towards them, they became more and more aggressive as they struck eachother without even understanding the reason.
Unbeknownst to them, they had all fallen prey to Exedra’s newest bloodline skill that he’d gained after completing his transformation for the first time.
< Passive Skill : Dragon of Madness
– Description: To gaze upon your horrible form is to know true despair that drives weaker beings into utter insanity.
Without even raising a claw or spewing a single flame, the humans below were in frenzied states of panic.
Children were clawing and biting their mothers.
Mothers were screaming and fighting off their children.
Men were fighting with other men and weeping tears of blood as they strangled their brothers.
It took the phrase ‘bloody hell’ to an entirely new level.
There were of course a few evolved in the crowd who attempted to run away but, with a single earth shaking roar Exedra used the powers he’d stolen from Jeddah for the first time and raised thick walls of ice around the city.
Amongst all of this trouble, a small squadron of around 40 stage 1 mages led by a single stage 2 knight were able to retain their sanity and prepared to defend against the imminent attack.
“Shit.. what kind of dragon is that?!”
“Did it do this to all of these people??”
“Why the fuck is a dragon attacking us??!”
Only the leader, a man Lisa would recognize as Atticus seemed mildly composed but even he was beginning to show signs of nervousness.
He’d been studying dragons for a very long time and he had never seen one with an ability as frightening as this one.
There was only one possibility that came to mind but it was almost too crazy to believe.
‘Could it be?… But why would he do this to us?!’
The knight had no time to think as in the next moment Exedra had finally arrived and when he landed on the ground the earth underneath him trembled and gave way.
He was easily 70 meters tall, and his body was backed with destructive muscles and near impenetrable scales.
Seeing the fearsome dragon so close, Atticus then noticed the pressure he was emitting was insufferable.
“Where… is Atticus Leonhart?”
The dragon’s very voice contained waves of mana that made the listeners tremble uncontrollably.
Weakly, Atticus stepped forward and tried not to show his building fear.
“Are you the one they call Vovin? The fourth prince of Antares?”
The dragon only nodded and Atticus immediately swallowed.
“Why are you doing this?! We have no quarrel with your people! Cease this at once!”
“It seems you are mistaken.”
“What?!”
“I am not doing anything, for as much as I would like to this revenge is not mine to take.”
“Revenge?” Atticus was thoroughly confused. “For what?!”
Who in their right mind was stupid enough to piss of a noble dragon?!
Exedra was trying to keep his calm but seeing how this man was ignorant as to his wrongdoings his boiling rage finally reached a fever pitch.
“You ant! Worm! Mongrel!”
As he growled the air sound him began to get hotter and hotter and sparks of black and purple flames could be seen spewing from his pointed maw.
“I could reduce you to ash a million times over and it would still not be enough to avenge my wife and daughter! I should kill you where you stand!”
Now the concrete underneath him had begun to melt and boil and Atticus snd the mages had started to sweat underneath their robes and armor.
Atticus was going to ask what the hell this insane dragon was even talking about when a voice he wouldn’t forget ever in his life cut through the wind.
“My love… you promised he would be mine.”
Atticus felt his pupils contract to the size of needles.
“No… it can’t be.”
Exedra growled in frustration when he realized he had indeed almost broken his promise just now but he couldn’t help it!
In his draconic form everything was greatly augmented and that included his emotions.
He felt like he should’ve been awarded for not incinerating this entire city already.
He was going to do it eventually but the urge to do it immediately was very strong!
“Apologies my wife…” Exedra grunted and forced his boiling emotions back down.
“Fufufu our husband has his cute sides too dont you think Bekka?”
It was then that Atticus saw her but he didn’t dare to believe his eyes.
Standing atop the mighty dragon’s back was Lisa but she felt… different?
Her body was wrapped in glittering gold and black body armor and she was holding a long golden trident.
Standing next to her was a beastkin woman who was lovingly patting the dragons scales.
“He sure does who would’ve thought.”
Exedra rolled his different colored eyes at the antics of his wives.
Did they have to say such embarrassing things in front of their enemies?
“Don’t dally while the prey waits girls.”
“Right!”
“Okay okay.”
With impressive leaps, both girls jumped down from Exedra’s body onto the ground below to stand in front of the quivering humans.
Once the two were down on the ground, their entire demeanors changed immediately.
The beastkin became almost feral as she dropped down onto all fours and flexed her long black claws.
“Lisa?” Atticus hesitantly called.
“You do not have the right to say my name.”
Anyone who had spoken to Lisa before would’ve immediately assumed this woman to be her evil twin.
She was cold, but more than that there was a venomous rage in her eyes that no one would’ve associated with such a sweet woman as herself.
“I have come here today for the simple purpose of enacting my revenge and killing my past so that I may be free in the future.”
Lisa twirled Raiton with a mystifying grace before pointing it at Atticus.
As her body crackled with electricity, Atticus became certain that this was no longer the toy he knew.
“I will cut out your heart and present it to my loving husband.”
With that she rushed forward at the speed of lightning with her weapon poised to strike.
“Perhaps in death your life will amount to something.”