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Mid Evening - Mid Winter : The Forgotten Islands

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- Amphitrite Ouranós ~

"Screech! Screech! Scr-" *POOF-FWOOOOSH* A huge black bird exploded into a flurry of feathers as I ripped past it, yet my eyes never left the horizon for an instant.

It had been about two hours since I left my estate at that point, and I was beginning to near the merfolk city órmos on the southern side of the Forgotten Islands, but rather than calming down as time passed, my anger only worsened.

-If Poniria is truly involved in this...

I swear to Bahamut...- By then, nothing but the thought of skinning Poniria like an ox could cross my mind.

At least that was the case until 'she' showed up.

*Vwoom* As if teleporting, a faint figure of a woman appeared right next to my head, effortlessly keeping pace with me. "~You seem to be in a rush.~"

Normally, I would have been quite happy to see her, but that time, things were a little different. "Now isn't the time for a casual chat, Grace."

"~Hoh? Have you already caught wind of the situation?~"

My demeanor quickly shifted upon seeing that she knew something. "A couple hours ago, a sizable group of ancients came to my estate to try and kill me. Of those I spared, two of them spilled pretty easily..."

"~I see. What did they say was happening?~"

"In short, they were working with the Chalastís family to create a scene in Atlas, kill a few important figures around Bahamut, then frame Siratha and the Ancient Fenrir for it all.

" Merely recalling their words left a sour tang on my tongue.

"They even said some gods in the Aesir were getting involved.

Do you know about them?" -If it's more than one, I could be in trouble. ..-

She immediately nodded. "~Both Freya and Vidar were involved.~"

My body instantly tensed up. "W..What?" Both gods were big names in Asgard, with Freya being one of the main seats in the church and Vidar being Odin's son. -But...- "What do you mean by 'were'?"

"~Well, Freya's main target was 'him'... What do you think happened?~"

My eyes quickly widened.

"~They thought he was Nott's apostle so they tried to make a scene killing him, using it to spark hatred between the Fenrir and dragons, but ended up digging their own grave in the process. The issue is that the spark wasn't completely snuffed out with Freya's death or the academy's destruction.~"

I almost instantly froze -The academy?- But the ice was quickly thawed by the growing fires of rage deep within me. "Poniriá, that deceitful bitch..."

Thankfully though, Grace caught me before I could sink into the pit of fiery rage. "~She is dead already, and Zafeíri is still alive and well, don't worry. Thankfully, she was stationed on the outer wall of the academy, so she only received some burns.~"

"A-Ah.. is that so..." I spoke with a slight quiver in my throat, the flame of anger in my chest refusing to extinguish immediately.

"~Nevertheless, I need a favor.~" Although I couldn't see her eyes, it felt like she suddenly matched my gaze.

"~Like I said earlier, the spark wasn't snuffed out.

Those who could hear Poniriá's voice beyond the walls of the academy have already started concocting and spreading rumors through Atlas, and the image of the Ancient Fenrir is falling because of it. ~"

-Why is that?- "Isn't he a Ragnarok? They should be-"

She quickly shook her head. "~They don't know what really happened yet.

Vasilias was.. not in the condition to speak with them.

.. Regardless, that's what I'm here for.

I need you to go to the Ragnarok's estate and tell them what really happened, perhaps omitting the parts pertaining to the gods, and assist them where you can. ~"

Taken aback by the genuine tone in her voice, my anger finally started to subside. "Hooh... Alright then.. I'll see what I can do..." But as the view of a massive, half-submerged city began cresting the horizon, doubt started to surface. "Will I be able to get into the city?"

"~You shouldn't have any problems near the rune. The only thing locked down currently is the academy and the surrounding area.~" She paused before turning toward the northern horizon. "~In any case, it looks like I have some company, so we will part ways here.~"

I quickly glanced over my shoulder to see if I could spot anyone, but to no avail. "Alright, I'll see what I can do on my end, but before you go, do you know where Zafeíri is?"

"~The West Northwest edge of the academy. Last I checked, she was helping some younger dragons that incurred injuries beyond the wall.~"

"Ah, I see..." -I don't need to worry then...-

"~Once you see the academy, you will understand. Until then, be safe. You were a target too.~"

"Will do." With a quick nod, I blinked, and by the time I opened my eyes, Grace was already gone. "Haah..." -I hope her company is friendly...-

Turning back to the horizon, I continued my flight to the massive city built on stilts and eventually found my way to a large mythril platform raised far out of the water with statues of dragons and merfolk surrounding it.

From the air, the surrounding buildings were quite empty, but as I landed and spread my aura through them, I found no signs of any fighting or resistance.

-Good... It looks like those traitorous bastards at least didn't cross the line here.

..- Assuming the merfolk had all retreated beneath the surface of the water, I quickly turned back to the rune, selecting Atlas as I walked up to the pedestal before injecting some mana into it. *vwoop*

Little did I know, I would soon come face to face with a sight I could have never imagined and would be caught up in a whirlwind I could have never prepared for.

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Mid Afternoon - Mid Winter : Valtivar | Siratha

- Leif Vilulf ~

*knock-knock* The soft rhythm of a knock echoed through my office as I looked out over the courtyard, dimly lit by the afternoon sun peeking through the clouds gathering over us.

-What a fitting atmosphere...- Slowly turning around, I stepped away from the balcony's railing and walked inside my office, leaving the door open to allow a chilly breeze inside. "You may enter."

*Click* The door swung open, revealing a radiant young woman with lustrous silver hair and deep bronze irises.

However, my eyes were immediately drawn to the exposed scales on her neck. -They look to be getting lighter...- "It seems your condition is continuing to improve."

She immediately bowed once the door closed behind her. "It is all thanks to you, Lady Vilulf."

"You know that I didn't do anything. A generous sponsor simply decided to help you." Finally sitting down, I opened a small drawer and pulled out a glass vial containing a single drop of a bright copper-colored liquid.

With a grateful smile, Siratha's newest and youngest Apostle, Liv Sigmond, immediately walked up and bowed again before gently taking it from my hands. *tap*

Carefully uncorking the delicate container, she tilted it up and dripped the trace volume of liquid into her mouth, causing her face to momentarily scrunch up before eventually easing.

"You're getting pretty good at handling the pain."

Her cheeks slowly turned rosy before she let out a deep breath. "Hooh..." Her breath was easily visible in the cold air, but after a moment, she didn't even seem to notice it. "Thank you for the praise."

-She really has improved greatly... But she still has a ways to go...- Finally sitting down, I took a moment to shift things around on my desk before putting on a serious expression. "So, how are things going?"

Quickly following suit, Liv's demeanor turned more formal.

"Things are going well. The new Hall of Prayers have been very well received so far, and, as you predicted, the number of people aspiring to become clerics and priests has grown exponentially.

There has even been a surge of people already qualified for higher ranks appearing in most larger cities. "

-Sounds like some of the dragons decided to make the shift already.

..- "That's quite a good sign, but for now we should be careful.

" -The more dragons openly make the shift, the more disdain those loyal to the dragon god will have for us.

..- Slowly standing up from my seat, I looked over my shoulder, through the open door and over the railing of the balcony to meet eyes with a relatively thin, masked figure crouched on the roof of a building.

He disappeared the moment I set eyes on him, but no matter what they might have thought, my eyes followed them with ease.

"Some dragons are truly endlessly arrogant..." *CR-RAAAACK* A deafening noise exploded from the room as I punched through an invisible white barrier and connected with the chest of a transformed dragon.

*CRUNCH-FWOOOSH* Their ribs instantly shattered like clay before they plowed through the wall of my office, zipping across the courtyard and slamming into a large building just beyond the front gate. *Crumble*

-How helplessly naive...- "Liv," I slowly turned around to see her holding her hand in front of her face. "Go over and quickly detain him. Kill him if he starts to wake up."

She slowly lowered her hands before jumping up in a hurry. "Y-Yes, ma'am!"

Watching her dart through the hole in the wall, I relaxed my posture once more and walked back out onto the balcony.

But before I could let out an alleviating breath as I watched Liv pry the black-robed man out of the rubble, I felt my skin crawl slightly. -Huh?-

Instantly looking up into the canopy, my eyes went wide.

Standing along the treant's looming branches were six dragons, each towering 60 to 80 meters tall, staring down at me while mindlessly exuding their aura and leaking bloodlust.

-Ah.. So it wasn't just a lone.. arrogant dragon...- But rather than feeling fear, after a moment of shock, my heart steadied. -Had this been even just a year ago, I would have been worried...-

Spreading my aura out, I tapped on the shoulders of several people throughout the estate, signaling them to come to my office, but before long, a smile came to my face. -I wonder how much I have improved since Lord Nott's return...-

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