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Mid Evening - Mid Winter : Atlas, Bahamut

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*fwoooosh* The brisk evening breeze gently caressed my scales as I soared over the city. Nightfall had already enveloped the cityscape, but as if to fend off the darkness, countless light artifacts had already turned on, setting the streets aglow.

But even in the void of the night sky, countless dragons could be seen. Although the skies had darkened, Atlas remained full of energy, with most merchants and stores remaining open, handling a steady flow of dragons both in and out.

But while there were dragons absolutely everywhere you looked, there was one place not a single dragon neared.

The Academy.

On the not-so-distant horizon, the towering central spire of the academy shone brilliantly, akin to a star in the sky, bereft of any life.

It was truly a beautiful sight, but no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't muster a smile. -Just a few hours until that disappears...- But while I had begun second-guessing myself, such reservations were useless. I had already dug too deep to turn away.

Quickly continuing toward the academy, I found my way to a lofty, brightly lit building overlooking the academy's massive courtyard and landed on its roof.

The building was known as 'The Stars Reprieve', an extremely renowned restaurant in the heart of Atlas, and where Poniriá and I agreed to meet before the event. -I wonder if she's here already.-

Walking up to what looked like a receptionists' desk stationed by a door suited for humans, I was immediately greeted.

"Welcome, esteemed patron." The elder gentleman rose as I approached, his demeanor suggesting he had been waiting for me.

"I hope you have had a wonderful evening, Sir!

" He used his aura to open the door as he bowed. "Please, right this way." *click*

Seeing him motion me inside, a slough of questions filled my mind, but after assuming Poniriá had just told them to expect my arrival, I changed forms and promptly followed the man inside.

The interior was inexplicably lavish. Plush red carpets cushioned each step, and towering mythril columns adorned with gold engravings lined every hall.

But after just a moment of walking, such things had lost their grandeur, and my expression had darkened once more.

The receptionist seemed to notice that as well.

"Sir, the mistress is just ahead. Please allow me to verify that we may enter.

In the meantime, allow a maid to assist you.

" He quickly motioned behind me, toward a long-haired elf half-breed in a pristine maids outfit.

"If you wish to take her, all you must do is ask. "

As he quickly rushed down the adjacent hallway, I glanced back at her, but she had no reaction. "Are the maids here disposable or something?"

She immediately shook her head, keeping her gaze toward the ground. "Not typically."

-Hm...- Glancing toward the hallway the receptionist ran down, I used magic to speak to the maid in secret. "Do you know anything about the woman in this room?"

But the maid didn't budge at all. "We are not allowed to speak of our patrons."

"Well, from this point on, she isn't your patron." Pushing some of my aura into her, her emotionless expression immediately changed.

"I-I see." Although seemingly fearful, she faintly smiled. "The person inside has had people coming in and out all evening; another entered just a few minutes before you arrived."

"Hm.. is that so?" -Those must have been the people she said she was summoning.- Not paying it mind, I straightened my posture and waited a moment for the receptionist to return.

However, when he eventually returned, he was a bit panicked. "S-Sir!" He used a thin white handkerchief to soak up a bead of cold sweat as he bowed. "It appears that the mistress wishes to see you outside. She will be a moment, but in the meantime, has asked us to treat you to a barrel of piotita."

-A whole barrel?- "Alright, that's fine. While you fetch that, please prepare this maid to be escorted to the Whyte Family estate southwest of here. Use the name Vasilias at the gate."

"R-right away, sir! Berenice, please lead him to the exit."

As he ran off, the elven maid glanced at me before smiling. "Please follow me, master."

"'My Lord', is fine."

"A-As you wish, my lord."

Quickly being led back outside, I changed back to my dragon form and found a place to lay down.

After about a minute, a maid and butler came out, wheeling a large barrel of alcohol about a meter and a half long, which I promptly took and sucked on like it was candy. -It's a bit stronger than normal...-

But even after finishing it, Poniriá had not shown up. -Twenty minutes, huh...- With new-found concerns already simmering in the back of my mind when I first got there, waiting did nothing but fester them.

Thankfully though, after a few more minutes, she finally arrived.

*click* *tap* *tap* *tap* "Sorry for the delay, Vasilias." She spoke smoothly and calmly as if her temperament was mellowed by alcohol.

"It's alright. I came before the agreed time."

"Well, it's good that you are here, regardless." *Flash* Changing to her dragon form, she instantly went from looking up at me to looking down. "In any case, let's get going. We can speak once we get somewhere else."

-Somewhere else?- I immediately gave her a questioning look, but as she took to the sky, I followed without giving it much thought.

The next thing I knew, we had flown about a dozen kilometers away from the academy and landed in a dark inner courtyard shared by several buildings, far from the sight of the bustling main roads. -Why are we here?-

But that was answered the moment we walked into the bottom of a building with nothing but long-since-settled dust inside and pulled up a few of the floorboards. -Ah...-

Beneath the flooring was a small spherical artifact with immediately visible Acardi symbols all over it. -There it is...- The artifact that could destroy the city in an instant. -It's live too...-

To have it stored in a place with such an immense amount of mana was indescribably dumb, but thankfully, this artifact's valves weren't going to give way any time soon. -I still can't help but wonder how she got it though... Did her family acquire one through their auction?-

"This is it. The artifact you are to drop, should the Ancient Fenrir not make a move.

" She spoke calmly yet confidently. "Once it touches the top of the central spire, it will detonate, so make sure you aren't in the vicinity by then.

This artifact will not care how many barriers you have in place if you are too close. "

"You speak like you've seen it explode in person."

She hesitated for an instant before carefully pulling the artifact out of the ground. "I have heard stories."

"I see..." I paused as she turned around and gently handed it to me. "In any case, when am I to drop it?"

"The moment the moon is at its highest point in the sky, drop it and run; just don't drop it early. If the Ancient Fenrir get involved, it will be then."

-Alright...- "In that case, we have some time to kill." Using some aura to keep the valves closed within the artifact, I picked it up and turned to walk outside. "Where in the academy is the meeting?"

"The floor above the headmaster's office and two floors above the deputy." She paused as she walked toward me. "I wouldn't recommend trying to spy on them if that is what you're thinking."

-Hoh?- "Why is that?"

"It is a meeting between several ancients. You will most certainly get caught." She spoke harshly as if trying to drive home the warning.

But I wasn't one to care. "If I get caught, it wasn't by one of the ancients." Finally stepping outside, I looked up toward the brightly colored night sky and spread my wings. "I will see you in a few minutes, Poniriá... When the academy is nothing but rubble." *Fwoosh*

Quickly taking to the air, I turned toward the academy and zipped over the horizon.

Glancing up at the moon, I had about 20 minutes, and the timer was already ticking. -I need to check if there is anyone other than the professors.. but I need to be quick about it...-

Pushing out a huge mass of mana, I slowed down and took control of the air around me, not letting a single disturbance escape while cloaking myself beneath a blanket of light magic.

Unless my body was within the range of your aura, I was completely invisible. Perfectly camouflaged.

And while I thought it may have been overkill at first, I quickly found that not to be the case.

All throughout the outer branches of the building were ancients standing around as if on guard.

At first, it seemed as though they were for simple security, but the more I looked around, the more I found it odd how evenly spaced they were and how it was as if they had been placed without regard for blindspots. Like they weren't looking for trespassers. -Just.. what are they doing?-

But without the time to stop and interrogate one of them, I forced myself to continue forward, scanning through the rest of the endless hallways with space mana before eventually making it to the spire.

The spire wasn't any different though. Spread all around it were dragons, Elder, or Ancient stage standing around twiddling their thumbs as if waiting for orders.

But as I continued working my way up, they started thinning out until, eventually, I was met by a massive wall of aura. -That must be them...-

It was the gathering of traitors. The group of targets I was to erase.

But while it was meant to be a meeting, as I pushed space mana into the room to eavesdrop for the few remaining minutes I had, I noticed something odd. -Why.. aren't they talking?-

They were all completely silent, standing around like statues with only their eyes and auras moving.

It was like they were waiting for a signal, similar to the people below...

The issue was, I didn't have time to investigate. Looking up at the moon, I noticed my time was quickly running out, and after a couple minutes without a word being spoken, I decided to take it to the sky and begin preparing my spell.

Thanks to the deputy, I already had more than enough evidence of guilt on each of them, so what did I care?

But while that's what I told myself, it would have been better to at least acknowledge the red flag.

As I flew into the sky above the academy, I began preparing my spell, but before long, I felt a sensation as if I was being watched. -Huh?-

It shouldn't have been possible for someone to see me, yet I still expected to see a dragon staring at me in the distance, perhaps seeing ripples in the mana around me, but when I looked toward it, rather than seeing that, I saw Mother's humanoid form reaching for the artifact in my paw.

A figure with no aura, no presence, and no life.

Yet even still, that figure was smiling at me with a soft, loving gaze that could not be worn by anyone but her.

*tink* The next thing I knew, my vision was engulfed in flames. A blaze reaching over ten million degrees.

Yet somehow, my body felt cold. Unimaginably cold.

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Behold, The Ruins of a Kingdom