THUD!
The ground shook as the remains of the monstrous, metal-plated elephant were lowered by hundreds of soldiers who had transported it there with great difficulty. Victor stood with a stoic expression, scanning the tangled metal remains.
“We’ve brought it, as requested, sir,” Drakhairs reported, bowing slightly.
Victor nodded and drifted closer, scrutinizing the wreckage, his gaze sharp as he searched for something.
Drakhairs followed, curious about what Victor hoped to find.
“If you’re looking for who killed this thing, then… it was the Sovereign—” Drakhairs paused abruptly as Victor’s piercing stare cut him off.
“Who told you it was the Sovereign?” Victor’s voice was low and icy. “It was me, Drakhairs… It was me.”
Drakhairs blinked, momentarily taken aback, wondering if Victor was simply trying to take credit. His thoughts barely formed before Victor spoke again, “No, I’m not taking credit. Your face just makes it too obvious.”
Drakhairs felt his cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Seems this old man’s gotten too easy to read… Forgive me, sir.”
Victor nodded, his focus already back on the remains. The metal was so densely compacted that it was hard to see what lay within. “We’ll need to cut this open to get inside,” he remarked, gearing up for a spell of intense heat when—
“As you command, sir!” Drakhairs declared, and his hands morphed into massive, blunt-looking claws.
SNNSNGGGGGG!
Victor’s eyes widened as Drakhairs sliced cleanly through the metal—a feat both he and the Sovereign had struggled with earlier. “How did you manage that?”
Drakhairs’ smile was proud but kind. “Our people’s unique body structure, sir,” he explained, showing his claws.
They looked surprisingly dull for a dragon that need to have sharp claws, yet he added, “There few bloodlines like us… We possess a technique that allows us to cut through the hardest of materials with ease—though it only works for slicing.”
Victor was fascinated. ‘Here I thought this metal was nearly indestructible.’ He mused aloud, “Then you could slice through the castle walls, too?”
Drakhairs glanced at the castle, shrugging. “Never tried it before, but yes, so long as it’s solid enough to withstand.”
“Interesting,” Victor said, nodding thoughtfully. He reached into the opened remains, carefully moving aside bits of debris, until finally… his gaze froze.
Slap!
“Sir?” Drakhairs raised a brow in surprise as Victor slapped his own face, visibly frustrated.
‘Fuck! How could I have overlooked this?!’ Victor’s thoughts churned as he stared at the bold letters etched into the inner wall:
ORIGIN.
‘Of course—it was him!’ Victor cursed inwardly. He’d been so focused on the Mother Goddess, he’d completely dismissed other possibilities.
It was like his mind already set his target that’s why he didn’t even bother to think otherwise!
‘The Origin Emperor…. This castle, the summit, the monster guarding the slab—it all started to make sense. But what was the purpose behind it? Was he not savior? Then why guarding the destruction?’ He wondered.
“Sir?” Drakhairs’ voice broke through his thoughts.
Victor turned, a glint of urgency in his eyes. “Do you know anyone with advanced knowledge of technology? Someone who could understand complex creations?”
Drakhairs grinned with pride. “I certainly do.”
He clapped his hands, and a mature, brown-haired woman appeared, kneeling before Victor.
Victor remembered saving her—’Lir… or something similar,’ he thought, but his musings were cut short as Drakhairs introduced her with pride.
“This is my daughter, Lyirrs!” Drakhairs beamed, “It’s not like I am bragging or anything but… She’s our best technician, the one who builds, repairs, and innovates all our mechanical equipment. It’s rare to find someone as skilled.” Enjoy new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire
Victor took in her appearance—brown hair and two small horns protruding from her forehead—before asking, “What material do you use for wiring in complex circuits?”
“Arcanium, sir!” Lyirrs answered swiftly.
“And the primary component of the crystals used in the showers?”
“Artificial crystals, synthesized from highly concentrated liquid.”
Drakhairs’ grin widened as he watched his daughter respond without a hint of hesitation. After all they’d been through—the separation, the suffering—seeing her flourish again filled him with immeasurable pride.
Suddenly, Victor’s gaze shifted to the sky, and his eyes narrowed as he saw something moving in the distance. Something—or rather, someone—was flying away.
“Take the metal pieces from the remains and reduce them to palm-size chunks,” Victor instructed as he pointed toward the fallen elephant. He then shot off into the air, flying towards the figure in the distance.
Drakhairs watched Victor leave, his brow furrowing. The flames propelling Victor in the air were unlike the wings of dragons. ‘Is he truly not a dragon?’ he thought, trying to make sense of Victor’s unique abilities.
But if Victor wasn’t a dragon, how could he control them so effortlessly?
Meanwhile, high above, Victor closed the distance, quickly catching up to… Thalia.
“Where are you going?” Victor called out to her, his voice cutting through the wind.
Thalia flinched at the sound of his voice and turned to face him, her eyes red from tears. “You’re the one who caused all this, and now you’re asking me where I’m going you bastard!” she shouted, her voice thick with anger and sorrow.
Victor sighed, looking at her with a mix of confusion and concern. “What happened now?”
Thalia’s chest heaved with emotion, and she bit her lip, her voice breaking as she shouted, “You don’t understand! You don’t understand what it’s like to be reborn, to see your family struggling… I don’t know who I am anymore!
I don’t know if I’m Noirix or Thalia… which one is real? Those thoughts—they keep haunting me, over and over, and I can’t find a way to stop them!” Her words came out in a rush, as if she had been holding them in for too long.
Her tears fell freely now, the struggle inside her finally breaking through.
Victor’s frown deepened as he listened to her, and he didn’t immediately reply.
“You don’t understand, Aether… what it’s like to live with the memories of a past life while trying to fit into a new one,” Thalia whispered bitterly, her voice shaking. “Having a new body with old memories—it’s tearing me apart.”
Victor’s heart softened, and he stepped forward, instinctively blocking her path as she tried to leave. Thalia glared at him, her fists clenched. “Let me go, Aether…” she warned, her voice low, cracking with tension.
This time, she wasn’t holding back.
Victor smiled faintly, though there was no amusement in his expression. “Running away? Why?”
“Because you don’t understand!” Thalia shouted again, her words laced with both fury and pain. In an instant, she appeared right in front of Victor, throwing a punch that came dangerously close to landing.
Victor tilted his head just enough to avoid the blow, and in the same fluid motion, he leaned in close to her ear, whispering, “For a fierce lady… your lips… they’re really soft, don’t you think?”
[+600 AP]
Thalia froze, her eyes wide in shock, completely caught off guard. “W-What?” Her words barely left her mouth before Victor’s next move was made, and she found herself suddenly teleporting back to his room.
Thalia landed on the bed!
No, No… he wasn’t that kind of guy!
He wasn’t going to do anything to his sister-in-law… so he took the chair purposefully.
Thalia glared at Victor as she saw him removing his mask and softly said, “If anyone understands you, Thalia… it’s me,”
“What do you mean?” Thalia frowned.
Victor simply replied, “I, too, have been reborn.”
“What?”