Chapter 32: Mechanic; Slayer of Dragons

Vaergraes rides her wyvern as hard as it can fly. It's panting and exhausted, but has covered a vast distance in just a couple of hours. However, there is no time to delay. The feral Feldrok, ferociously territorial defender of the ruins of the Citadel, has been slain. Given recent events, there can only be one culprit.

And, if the dragons are all en route to the Citadel, it is as firmly written as the past.

As the castle known as the Citadel comes into clearer view, the Demon Queen pushes her wyvern even faster. There are dozens of other powerful demonkin riding at her back, trying to keep up. However, she lets her focus slip. She is no more safe from this threat than the dragons themselves.

And, when she can clearly see the castle's finer details, such as windows and Feldrok-friendly flyways, her heart begins to ache. A dragon corpse is laying on the landing way extending from a high level of the castle. Judging by its position and angle, it was slain as it was trying to flee from the flyway leading into the castle.

An orange dragon with glimmering scales, one of the youngest female dragons, is clawing at thin air while hovering, frantic.

It doesn't take a genius of magic to understand what it is; she is clawing at the inside of a barrier as she's trying to flee. It is said that the Citadel at full function could repel anything, even other Feldroks at full power. A dragon trying to penetrate the magical barrier would be helpless.

But… the Citadel has been defunct for centuries. The feral Feldrok appeared before the dragons could take control of the fortress, and it drove them out, nearly killing them all. Ever since, the dragons have only prodded the Feldrok, but it ferociously attacks dragons that arrive, as if it knows of the rumored treachery. Unlike many of the demonkin, Vaergraes has heard a firsthand account; from her own great grandfather before he passed away. The Feldroks were a benevolent race betrayed by the dragons. By her time, there was nothing to be done, and equilibrium had returned to demonkin, including the dragons.

However, her eyes did not deceive her, including checking for magic spells of deception, illusion, or mind altering. The only magic is the impenetrable spell of the magic barrier. The young orange dragon is clawing at the inside of the barrier, and Vaergraes dives her wyvern towards the dragon. She spots the demon queen coming, and she cries out, "My Queen! Please! You have to hel-" 

BOOOOOOOOM!

Vaergraes and her wyvern both flinch, and she's nearly thrown from the wyvern's back. Some of the others aren't so lucky, and their wyverns panic. Some riders are plummeting towards the ground. Fortunately, the most skilled in their ranks are able to dive their wyverns to the rescue.

However, horror has frozen the demon queen in place. Also plummeting from the sky is the lifeless form of the young orange dragon, struck down with a single blow.

There, at the floor in the center of the flyway, is a single lone figure.

She can't detect even a trace. Not a single wave of mana. Not a static blur like mana concealment -it would be unthinkable for someone to be powerful enough to hide their magic from the Shrine Priestess, in tune with nature as she is-. It's not impossible, but not even Feldroks could do so.

In his hands, the being is cradling what appears to be a long, strangely shaped staff that he holds horizontal. From its tip trails a long string of smoke, and the length of it has a reddish color.

The orange dragon flops to the ground lifelessly, and the demon queen flinches. Though he's still so far away, thanks to the size of the barrier itself, she can feel his gaze turn to her. 

However, without much of a pause, he simply turns around, walking back into the Citadel through the flyway.

After a short while, as the council members regroup around her, one of them asks, "My Queen! What do we do?"

The Queen stares at the flyway where the defender disappeared. She doesn't understand what she saw. Could it be that the Citadel is blocking her magic detection? Or is he truly that powerful? Where are the other dragons? The Dragon Lord? Did this one person defeat them all? What are the true capabilities of the Citadel itself?

With the suddenness of the attack, the orange dragon's body vanishes. And, a moment later, the barrier lowers.

One of the council members points out, "Look! The barrier; it's lowering."

"That's right! Perhaps it ran out of power!"

"No! Don't cross the threshold! It's obviously a trap."

"But, we must find out what became of the dragons!"

"Yes, yes! We must hurry! This could be their own actions lowering the defenses!"

The Demon Queen ponders the rapid-fire discussion going on around her. Both main points are equally weighty; losing all of the dragons here would be a devastating blow on par with losing all but the feral Feldrok, not only from losing a species but also from the military might; and the other point being that it's very much more likely it's a trap being laid. However…

Vaergraes finally replies, "Everyone retreat to a safe distance and await further instructions."

"Your majesty!?"

"I'm going. I sense an invite, and only one falling into a trap is better than all of us."

"But your majesty!"

"It's fine. Without the dragons, our hope for a future is gone. Perhaps with this conqueror,..." She trails off for a moment. "I'm hoping I can negotiate. I will leverage myself if need be. And, if I perish, retreat and do not approach the Citadel again."

"Your Majesty, this is preposterous!"

"My mind can't be changed, General. Either we surrender to this unknowable enemy, or we face him on another battlefield of his choosing. Perhaps your homeland? Or yours, Chieftain?"

The council members go quiet at that last part. She's not wrong. He marched his way to the Citadel and conquered it in the span of a few weeks. Whoever this 'Harbinger of Calamity' is, he can neither be ignored nor trifled with. She will negotiate with him.

And, if possible, plead for his help.

***************

The morning before, Daniel yawns as he wakes up. Xyreko reports as she approaches with a breakfast prepared, "Master, I must report."

Daniel looks around, surmising the report himself. "Hekate left to retrieve the dragons."

"I… That wasn't my exact report, but yes. She departed with suspicious behavior."

"She's bound by slave orders to conquer the Citadel and report back to the Dragon Lord, or so I suspect. It works out, because he was my real target when I headed here."

"If I might ask, Master, why would you have a personal interest in the Dragon Lord?"

"Why?" Daniel puts his hand on his chin as he thinks. "For starters, he sent his brother to attack the fortress I was a part of, endangering some people I care about. Additionally, I've heard from demonkin that he's a pretty tyrannical person and a war monger. Toppling a dictator alone rarely fixes problems, but, eh, this isn't my world. And, no one else can do it, apparently."

Xyreko nods in agreement. "But, why would you allow him to attack here?"

"Isn't that obvious? We have the advantage. He'll believe Hekate can let him in, and she will."

"Pardon?"

"We'll allow them in and isolate them, just like the monsters. Is that not possible?"

"Oh… I see now. Yes, that will be simple. Barrier control is quite fine, though, it can be difficult to vivisect enemies with it, including dragons."

"That's fine. As long as we can lure them in, trap them, and… Say, can you remove the oxygen from a room?"

"Ox…y…gen?"

"Right. Pre-atomic theory world. I'll explain, but the crucial component of air is the element oxygen. But, sucking the air out will obviously do it, so…?"

"Oh… I suppose, yes, removing the air from a room would be possible… But why?"

"I can gun down the dragons with the shells you're making, but Hekate might be forced to confess about the rifle. In that case, they might be able to overwhelm me. However, few things will be more humiliating for the proud and mighty dragons than suffocating, am I right?"

"I…"

"In my world, we had a saying; 'Vengeance is a dish best served cold.' I'm not out for revenge, per se, but I can guarantee that, for a scummy person who needs to die, utterly destroying them is a good way to bring closure to a long-standing grudge. Even a few centuries worth. That's my experience, anyways."

Xyreko stares at him silently for a long time. She finally murmurs, "The one they call the dragon lord… he's red, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"He's definitely the one… the one that betrayed…"

"I suspected as much."

"I… I have… endured… hundreds of years, I have endured. My only satisfaction was that the feral Feldrok denied him. But…" She looks up from her thoughts and into Daniel's eyes, even though her golem face can't show expressions. "I have pledged to serve you, Master, but if you help me claim vengeance, I will vow my very heart and soul to you forever beyond your death."

Daniel chuckles. "I'm not helping you do anything. You're helping me. I'd be grateful if you would tell me everything this castle can do."

"With pleasure, Master."

With that, they set their plans. Xyreko's passion for Daniel's otherworldly knowledge is only compared to by Wenlianna's. The castle's repairs are still ongoing, but it'll barely affect the defense. And, having been cleared out of monsters, she's already got manufacturing producing bullets. The first ten were already provided, and they possess a cold iron core, apparently, which is plenty strong and hard enough to penetrate dragon scale. The name is deceiving though. As far as Daniel could tell from the sample she showed him, it's not true pure iron. It's some sort of magically-forged alloy with an iron-oxide color. It's also cold to the touch and absorbs magic, though not to dramatic degrees in either case.

Daniel also revealed the construction methods for diamonds and their use as magic crystals. While Xyreko knew diamond could be used as magic crystals, she didn't know it was so relatively straight forward to produce them -even if the forces involved are beyond the reach of simple humans without magic-. However, like Wenlianna's surprisingly unlimited resources and intelligence, Xyreko's manufacturing means make it possible to make the components even easier than Wenlianna's equivalent would be.

They won't have any diamonds in time for the coming battle, but that won't matter. Because the castle can manipulate so much magic around and inside itself, and the golems under Xyreko's control can fine tune that magic, they begin laying many traps to defeat the dragons.

Daniel's pretty sure Hekate is either following orders or was summoned back. Given many people can sense that Daniel doesn't have magic, it's extremely likely they also can sense when a powerful source of magic like a Feldrok has suddenly perished. As such, they likely want to know what she did.

Hekate knows that Daniel is making more bullets for his 'staff', and she also knows that they can create a barrier now to keep the dragons out. However, if she 'allows them in', which she won't expect, they will likely have lower guard than if they have to break through the defenses. Once inside, the dragons can be isolated one at a time and either imprisoned, incapacitated, or executed. Daniel doesn't want to make a race extinct, but he also needs to destroy their resolve to fight.

Knowing that the air can be removed from rooms at his control, Daniel can choose which dragons to spare and which ones to finish off.

In all honesty, he's setting up a sort of 'haunted house' layout. He doesn't know what the resolve of a dragon is like, but if they believe they're virtually invincible, with the last of the Feldroks enslaved to their will, an unknown enemy massacring them seemingly effortlessly should unsettle them at least, leading them into more of the traps.

Daniel's advantage is that his knowledge is otherworldly, and his weapons were meant to take down tanks. Nothing remotely comparable, save magic itself, exists in this world that the dragons stand at the top of.

And, in Daniel's world, no empire was untouchable. Difficult, but not untouchable. The unknown is their greatest threat.

Once he has his preparations in place, it is merely time to wait.

***************

Hekate trembles as she makes her way into the dragon castle. She snuck out of the Citadel while Daniel was asleep, and it aches her so, but she was given an order. She couldn't refuse it. The Dragon Lord had reached out to her with magical telepathy. He somehow knew that the feral Feldrok was killed, and he ordered Hekate to return and report.

Naturally, she doesn't want to. She doesn't want anything to happen to Daniel. He can probably defeat any one of the dragons one on one, but if they try to attack him all at once…

She can't bear to think of it. Fortunately, she has one secret. The Citadel is active now, meaning the barrier will keep them out. Only Daniel and Hekate can come and go, and she doesn't have to let them in. She can't even make them members, thanks to Daniel. He seems to trust her, but he's also trying to ensure that she's still useful enough that the dragons won't just kill her.

She learned so much in just the brief amount of time she was with Daniel. She learned that she, too, is a Feldrok, though she still has trouble believing it. But, Daniel explained that it's precisely why the dragons would treat her so poorly and desperately try to keep her enslaved; she's the ultimate secret weapon. Few could even remotely defeat the dragons to begin with, and with the last surviving Feldrok on their side, they'll be truly unstoppable.

At least, that's what Daniel believes the Dragon Lord is thinking, and it would seem he is wiser than his race or years would suggest. For a human, Daniel knows far too much about far too many things.

Hekate was forced to betray him now, but she has a plan of her own. If she can lure the Dragon Lord into a one on one battle with Daniel somehow by playing along, then he'll surely forgive her after he kills the Dragon Lord. He is her fated one. He has to forgive her. 

The young Feldrok girl arrives before the lord, reporting; "Master, I have returned. The Citadel has been conquered."

"How? How have YOU accomplished this?"

Hekate hesitates. What would he say in a moment right now? Deceit is her only option, but she's not able to lie if the lord presses the issue. That said, she also needs to ensure he doesn't kill her.

"After the feral Feldrok was killed, I placed my hand on the control console of the Citadel, my master. The magic recognized me as the new administrator."

This shocks the dragons gathered in the hall.

"You!?" asks the White Dragon in shock. She's usually slow to express emotions, but she's genuinely surprised.

Hekate replies, "Yes."

The dragons are silent. It's likely they're having a heated debate via telepathy. Hekate remains silent. Before her salvation at the hands of her beloved, she was silent because she wanted to be forgotten. Now, she's silent because she wants them to die.

Please forgive me, Daniel. If I could resist, I would. I would destroy them for you. Please forgive me.

Finally, the Dragon Lord speaks, "If you are the Master of the Citadel, then I merely need to kill you and place my hand on the control console, yes?"

Hekate hesitates. She suspected he'd know that. Daniel thought the Dragon Lord was involved with the original fall of the Citadel, as did Xyreko, but that was a long time ago. 

She replies as calmly as she can. She didn't lie, so she still has options. "That is unlikely to work, Master. I am only the administrator, not the master."

The Orange Dragon snarls with her sassy tone, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Hekate says nothing, and the Orange Dragon snarls, "Answer me, you filthy cur!"

The Dragon Lord growls coldly, "It means the Master is someone else. Who is it?" His hate-filled gaze burns into her.

Again, she has a choice to make. If she mentions that he's merely a human, they'll be more eager to go as a group. If she mentions the name they'd know him by, they may be too afraid to go, forcing Daniel to hunt them. However, saying that he's 'merely' Daniel may be the better option. She hasn't yet revealed that he was the one who killed the Feldrok, and she hasn't revealed that she knows she is one. This may be why they're especially on edge right now. They may be afraid she knows.

Perfect.

"He is the servant I subjugated in the Citadel. I made him touch the console in case it was cursed, but the first to touch it becomes the master. I only learned this after the fact, Master."

The Dragons all growl in frustration. How was I supposed to know? I'm just a dumb slave, obviously. Teehee.

She hides her internal glee, but the fact that Daniel is more courageous than any of these relative weaklings is more apparent to her than ever before. 

"Order him to serve me, then," snarls the Dragon Lord.

"I cannot from here, Master. He is incapable of magic. It must be done in person."

With a quiet, telepathic conversation, the dragons glance at each other.

With a sigh, the Dragon Lord states, "Enough of this. Let us go to the Citadel and claim our rightful place at the apex of this world."

He and all of the dragons roar together. 

Hekate flinches. While she suspected they might all want to go, she was hoping the Dragon Lord would want to conquer the Citadel first. After all, if anyone else beats him to the control panel, they become the master. After killing Daniel and Hekate, of course.

For now, they need her, since the Dragon Lord clearly knows that the Citadel is capable of cloistering up and becoming impenetrable, even to the mighty dragons.

But, in their minds, she can open the door.

Too bad for them, she's not going to.

They drag Hekate through the sky back to the Citadel without delay. She knew the Dragon Lord was always interested in conquering the Citadel, but so long as the feral Feldrok lived, it was impossible for them. 

They arrive quickly, flying through the air is the dragons' domain, as with all other realms of the world.

They land at the outer gate, and the Dragon Lord shoves Hekate forward. "Open the barrier."

Hekate hesitates, but she nods obediently. She can't disobey direct orders, even if she wants to. She walks to the gate's barrier and places her hand on the panel. All that will happen is…

The barrier around the entire Citadel lowers.

The young girl flinches as her tail tingles. No! What is this!? Daniel! You had to have noticed! You're… You're too smart for this! Why wouldn't you remove my access!?

Hekate glances nervously at the Dragon Lord, who grins. "Gooood. Let's go. Lead the way to the control console, slave."

Hekate whimpers, but she once more can only nod, obeying helplessly. 

Please run, Daniel! I'm sorry! If… If I can warn him…

She points at the flyway -a huge landing platform that would seem to have been meant for the dragons… if Feldroks weren't similar avians of titanic size.

The dragons take Hekate to that level, and she leads the way on the flyway in through the entrance. Her feet are moving on their own, unfortunately. The dragons chuckle and laugh as they follow the Dragon Lord and Hekate. The Citadel has been conquered, and the feral Feldrok is nowhere to be seen. Of course, they could sense its magic if it was.

Once they're inside, Hekate leads towards the pedestal where the feral Feldrok was sleeping, as well as the control console nearby. The young girl tries to glance around, her big triangular ears turning and listening. Daniel has no magic of his own, so it's impossible to detect him that way. There are more living creatures than just Daniel in the Citadel, so it's proving to be difficult to figure out where he is.

Once all of the dragons are inside, they eagerly survey the giant castle. Though, a couple of them remain reserved and quiet in the back; the Cobalt blue female dragon, and the Dragon Queen, the Pearlescent dragon. While they study the Citadel as well, they are more quiet about it. It's almost as if they're disappointed.

Suddenly, Daniel's voice fills the room from every direction. "Who dares enter my castle?"

The dragons all halt and look in opposite directions around them. 

The Dragon Lord snarls, "{SLAVE!? WHAT IS THIS!?}"

She squeaks, "{I-I don't know!}"

Daniel's voice booms again, "Ahhhh, your fear is delectable! Wallow in your terror, you pathetic lower lifeforms!"

The orange dragon snarls fiercely, "{It's speaking the eastern language!}"

The silver dragon, the only other male, adds, "{It's obviously a human or other pathetic being.}"

"Human?" asks Daniel in surprise, which surprises Hekate. He doesn't understand draconic… does he?

"I am no mere human anymore. I have transcended. The closest your pathetic minds could comprehend is your god, but there is no divine realm waiting for you. I am the Apex! I am everything! The darkness that you fear, the guiding light that you cling to in the sky, the water in your veins!"

The Dragon Lord booms, "SHOW YOURSELF, COWARDLY BEAST! NO CREATURE IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO SLAY ME!" He exhales a torrent of fire in a seemingly intentional direction, and Hekate flinches.

However, a moment later…

"You waste the water I give in that disgusting blood of yours. I think I'll take it back."

"WHAT!?"

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Startling all of them and causing them to flinch, the loudest noise in the world thunders out. The noise that follows is probably even more terrifying.

It is a soul-searing sound that sends shivers through every hair, scale, and tooth present. Well, except for maybe one…

It is the sound of the Dragon Lord screaming in agony as he flops backwards, clawing at his chest as blood sprays from both his chest and back.

Blood.

Sprays.

The other dragons leap back away from him, a couple of them launching into flight in terror as they stare helplessly at the giant red being screaming as the last of his breath and strength leaves his body, and all at once, he flops to the ground.

The silver dragon shouts quickly, "HURRY! SOMEONE BRING THE POTATION OF-"

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Suddenly, blood and brain matter explode from his skull, and he too, topples wordlessly to the ground.

The female dragons and lesser dragons remaining all roar and breathe fire in every direction that they can.

However, something is peculiar. In spite of spraying fire in every direction, the flames only seem to reach a short distance away from each of them.

The Golden Dragon is the first to fall, clutching her throat as she pants quickly. She tries to scramble forward, but she runs into a barrier.

A barrier internal to the Citadel.

The White dragon and the orange dragon cry out, "{Sister!}"

They all try to breathe fire and whatever other elements each of them specializes in to try to break the barrier, but none of them can save her, and they watch helplessly as the golden dragon collapses lifelessly.

The White dragon sinks to a low position, breathing with labor as well.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Tearing them out of their terror and shock, the thunder god claims one of the lesser dragons present.

"Do you pathetic beasts that scurry on the ground or in the sky understand now? I am that which you should have feared more. I am that which can kill even the mighty Feldroks. I am the Harbinger of Calamity! The Feldrok Sorcerer! Come forth and feed me your fear!"

With that, the remaining dragons scatter. The White Dragon and Cobalt Dragon are trapped in barriers, and the white dragon is already falling unconscious just like the golden dragon. However, the lesser dragons and orange dragon flee towards the entrance.

It serves them no good. The terrifying staff of Daniel claims one after the other without pause, and the lesser dragons fall in quick succession. 

Hekate, covering her ears desperately, looks towards the source of each of the attacks; a growing cloud of smoke puffing with each attack that he launches. Daniel is lying prone on the ground, covered in sand that hides him in the floor. She watches in stunned wonder, while Daniel picks off the dragons relentlessly.

The orange dragon manages to fly off, leaving the immediate view of the flyway door, but she is the only one left.

Daniel climbs to his feet, and Hekate wants to run to him in joy. However, he doesn't look at her yet. He simply does his arm motions on his rifle, and he walks towards the flyway door. Hekate follows, but she's afraid. She's afraid he's angry with her.

She's afraid he changed his plan because of her.

When he exits out into the sunlight, Hekate stops in the shadows. The Orange dragon is clawing at the barrier of the Citadel; the interior of the barrier. Like the barriers that trapped the white, gold, and cobalt dragons, she can not escape. However, desperate escape is the only thing on her mind.

Hekate finds surprise, though. While she doesn't know all of them, she is aware of the one and only Demon Queen; ruler of all demon kin by proxy more than anything. She is the only one that is able to get the demonkin to work together towards preserving their existence, and thus, the only way of organizing the war as it stands without inviting more bloodshed than necessary.

She is trapped on the outside of the Citadel, riding a wyvern, with dozens more wyverns behind her, trying to reach the Citadel in time.

However, Daniel takes aim with his rifle. It was too late the moment they arrived.

BOOOOOOOOM!

With that, the last of the greater dragons falls from the sky with a cry, and some of the wyverns and riders even flinch so badly that they fall. Hekate understands. It's a terrifyingly loud noise with suddenness rivaled only by the thunder of lightning.

Daniel looks up at the sky for a brief moment, clearly sizing up the Demon Queen and her followers, before he simply returns inside the Citadel. He looks at Hekate, nodding. "Hekate. Welcome home."

She flinches. "D-Daniel?"

"I'll explain everything later. We need to prepare. If the newcomers want to try their hand, I won't back down now. Xyreko, can you transfer the prisoners to cells? Obviously ones that can contain dragons."

"Of course, Master," comes back Xyreko's voice over the ethereal, all encompassing voice. Was she the one using Daniel's voice? "Shall I ready to welcome our next round of guests, Master?"

"Give me a minute to reload. I burned through more shells than I expected."

"Indeed. I am proud and surprised your glorious staff proved so effective, my Master. I was hoping to have more time with the Dragon Lord to myself."

"Don't worry. Someone among them has a revival potation, I assume, right? That's what they were about to ask for."

"Revival potation?"

"Yes. We'll revive the Dragon Lord so you can kill him again your way. I just wanted to send a message. Sorry. Also, he struck me as the smartest and quickest to figure out our tricks if I left him alive."

"No worries, Master! But… you would waste something so precious as a revival potation on your enemy just to kill him again?"

"Sure, why not? It won't have any effect on me. I promised you a proper revenge, and if we can find another one, we'll keep it on hand for Hekate. Also, if possible, I'd like to make our own in the future."

"That's not impossible, Master, but there are some especially rare ingredients required, as well as a massive amount of magic. The Citadel is capable of repurposing the mana of the fallen, but it would be better spent used elsewhere, I believe. Even my masters believed that Death is merely the conclusion of a story, and all stories need to end."

"I agree," replies Daniel. "I'm not trying to start an economy of being able to raise the dead. The first people most interested and able to afford them are generally scummy people. Like the Dragon Lord."

Daniel replenishes his rifle's catalysts in his pockets and states, "Any hostility from our guests?"

"None, Master."

"I see. Any idea who it is?"

Hekate blurts out, "{She's the Demon Queen!}"

Daniel looks at her, and Xyreko translates. "She claims that at least one of the individuals are known as 'the Demon Queen'.

"Ah… That's interesting." Daniel checks his rifle. The once-black barrel of the weapon is still glowing a whitish red, especially near the far end where heat waves and smoke rise.

Xyreko explains, "Demons are powerful magic users, but not nearly as capable of natural defense as the dragons. She'll likely use magic to defend. I can't say whether or not her magic is strong enough to deflect your weapon, Master."

"Understood."

"If you would like a mythril core, that should be able to penetrate all but the Citadel's magical defenses."

"Make a few for now, but invite her in. Use barriers to corral her, but don't kill her yet. I want to see what she has to say."

"Of course, Master."

And with that Daniel takes a seat in his chair, and Hekate patters over next to him, fidgeting.

He still hasn't really acknowledged her actions, other than welcoming her home.

Regardless, she can feel it. Thanks to Daniel, truly thanks to Daniel, she is free. She is just a little girl -no, a little Feldrok girl-, free to grow up and to do what she wants.

******************