Today’s Second Update

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Now I’m certain—someone really wants me dead.

Oren stood there with an expression that screamed, *Say whatever you want; I don’t care.* But even as he stayed silent, Yamwen beside him surged forward, glaring up at the Crimson Dragon.

“Hold on! What proof do you have? Are you condemning an innocent person just because a *necromancer* said so?”

“Exactly. Miss Yamwen is right.”

Dysaia stepped forward slowly, his gaze locked on the dragon. “I know Hilwen too. Bronze Dragons may be famed for prophecy, but we shouldn’t swallow his words whole.”

“*Shouldn’t*?”

For some reason, Oren felt Dysaia’s words had struck Elaer’s rawest nerve.

The dragon’s roar an instant later confirmed it.

“Those who doubted are *dead*, Eternal Vigilant!”

A gale erupted with Elaer’s fury. Trees swayed violently, roots tearing from the earth. Thunderclaps deafened Oren’s ears. He saw the dragon’s claws sink deep into the mountainside, rocks clattering down like broken teeth.

“During the Ancient Epoch! Hilwen warned the Dragon Emperors: *Beware the Demons!* And what happened? No one believed humans could awaken them! But *Iris* did it!”

Elaer’s rage shattered a massive slab of rock from the cliff. Boulders crashed down as Oren and Yamwen dodged. Dysaia stood unmoved, facing the dragon’s wrath head-on.

“I saw the Black Dragon Emperor’s head launched by trebuchet into Loporicos—to terrorize the Elvenfolk and Dwarves inside! I saw the Blue Dragon Emperor flayed alive by humans, left to bleed out! I saw the White Dragon Emperor’s corpse impaled on a spear while humans bathed in his blood, chanting *Long live humankind!*”

Elaer spread his wings. The sky plunged into darkness. In that black void, Oren saw dragonfire churning in the beast’s maw, sparks dancing on his lips.

“And my father—the great Crimson Dragon Emperor! They dismembered him alive. His hide was flayed on the spot to forge armor for Iris. His scales were melted into blades, quenched in his own blood! His flesh? Served at a feast for hundreds of human soldiers!”

Then Oren witnessed a dragon’s wrath for the first time. Flame incinerated forests and fields around the mountain. Heat warped the air like boiling water. Yet through the inferno, Elaer’s roar climbed even higher.

“We are *Dragons*! We are all-knowing, godlike! But look at my father’s fate—*butchered and devoured*! What difference is there between us and swine?!”

The shockwave hurled Oren and Yamwen backward. Dysaia didn’t flinch. Slowly, Elaer folded his wings, his voice dropping to a growl.

“I curse you, Eternal Vigilant. In the war that decided the fate of humans and non-humans, you never showed up. Of the Three Ancient Dragon Clans, only the Silver Dragon Legion was absent. Look at you now—crawling in this filthy human form. I’d rather die as a dragon than live like you!”

“I respect your resolve, Heir of the Crimson Dragons.”

Dysaia stepped closer, meeting Elaer’s gaze. “But what then? Will you murder an innocent life just because you fear death—and trust a necromancer’s prophecy?”

“An *innocent human* life!” Elaer snarled, correcting him. “I have my plan. I’ve united the remaining Elvenfolk, Dwarves, and the last Orc clans. We will strike back. Humans will pay for their crimes. Non-human nations will rise again on this continent!”

“Impossible.”

Oren stepped forward, positioning himself beside Dysaia. “I don’t know how many allies you’ve gathered, but it can’t be many. Do you really think that’s enough to challenge *three* human nations? Have you even calculated the odds?”

Elaer merely snorted, dismissive.

“Humanity’s golden age died with Iris. Now they’re a wretched race squabbling 365 days a year. Watch—the Alliance of Free Cities will crush the barbarians next. Then they’ll turn on the Duchy of Sidius. That’s when the true war begins.”

“Ridiculous.”

Oren advanced until he stared straight into the dragon’s eyes. “I don’t know your schemes—but I’ll say this: *There will be no war.* The Alliance won’t attack Sidius. No human or non-human will die for such pointless bloodshed. And if you insist…”

He raised his fist slowly.

“I won’t mind being called *Dragon Slayer*.”

“Hah! You frighten me, human.”

Elaer rose, wings trembling. “Yamwen! Kill this fool. His lies sicken me!”

Yamwen didn’t move.

“What are you waiting for, *Elf*?!” Elaer’s claws scraped stone. “Move! If you fear the Eternal Vigilant, I’ll hold her back. Alone, I can’t kill him under her watch—but with you? It’d be as easy as—”

“I’m sorry, Elaer.”

Yamwen’s voice was calm. “You need to calm down.”

“*You’re* the one who needs calming!” Elaer roared. “Fine. Lontan must’ve betrayed me too, right? Explain yourself—or I’ll melt that pretty face of yours into sludge with my breath!”

“You *dare*—!” Oren shouted. Dysaia nodded faintly, stepping in front of Yamwen. But Yamwen pushed past them, facing Elaer squarely.

“Tell me, Elaer! Did you kidnap a boy from a human family—and cut out his father’s tongue?”

Behind them, Dysaia’s face twisted into a comically shocked expression. No one saw it. Elaer paused, then shrugged.

“I don’t recall. I’ve never cared about human trifles. A few thousand years blurs the details.” He added coldly, “Though after burning dozens of their villages? I’ve probably done such things thousands—*millions*—of times.”

Yamwen nodded slowly. “Elaer, you may not know this. But a girl lost her entire family because of you. She’s hunting you across the continent, fueled only by vengeance.”

Elaer’s eyes widened slightly—but Oren saw no remorse there. Yamwen pressed on.

“This makes me question our path. We call ourselves righteous—but when we enforce that righteousness, don’t we become the very monsters we despise? What separates us from the humans we loathe?”

She stepped closer, locking horns with the dragon.

“There must be another way! This cycle of hatred solves nothing! Even if we build a new non-human nation, won’t the fallen humans curse us just as we curse them now? Won’t they plot war anew?”

“Then we kill them *again*!” Elaer bellowed. “Kill them a second time! A third! If needed, we’ll wipe every human from this land! Only non-humans will remain. *That’s* the perfect world!”

Elaer’s wings beat heavily as he lifted off the mountainside. His voice rumbled like distant thunder.

“But I respect your choice, Yamwen. *This once.* Next time you stand with this human—I’ll kill you without hesitation. Tell Lontan the same.”

With that, Elaer soared skyward, his form fading until he vanished into the horizon. Oren exhaled sharply, turning to Yamwen.

“Thank you for believing in me.”

Yamwen stiffened, then looked away. “Don’t flatter yourself. I made my own judgment. A human like you won’t sway me for another few centuries.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Oren muttered inwardly. *Centuries? Why does that sound so… real coming from an Elf?*

“Honestly,” Dysaia sighed quietly beside him, “I don’t know why she’s always so… *moody* around you.”

Oren nodded absently. “Right? She’s practically—wait. *Moody*?”

He froze, staring at Dysaia. “You mean… that dragon was… *female*?!”

“Of course. Wasn’t it obvious?”

*Obvious?!* Oren screamed silently at Dysaia’s utterly serious face.

When Oren looked at Yamwen, she gazed back at him as if it were only natural.

"Could it be my fault..."

As he thought this, Oren tilted his head toward the sky, but inexplicably, the corner of his mouth kept twitching uncontrollably.