Bang—
A powerful surge of pressure erupted from above, making my hair and clothes ripple.
But that was really all there was to it.
Staring up above, I didn't feel particularly suffocated by the pressure emitted from above.
In fact… I almost felt as though I was on even grounds with them.
'But just here.'
This was rely the ntal space of the wyvern-like creature that Delilah was trying to ta.
"Raaawrg—!!"
As I gazed ahead, the creature seed genuinely frightened of Delilah. She stood tall, her back straight, the black coat billowing behind her as she calmly slipped her hands into her pockets and stared ahead in silence.
She appeared utterly unfazed by the creature, her intense gaze locking with it without a hint of fluster.
It was as if she was looking at a small animal.
"She's trying to ta it through fear."
Suddenly, a voice reached my ears. When I looked down, I saw a black cat, its eyes fixed on the spot where Delilah stood.
As it quietly stared in her direction, Pebble proceeded to shake its head.
"…Taming it through fear won't work."
"Oh?"
This was new to .
In hindsight, I wasn't fully aware of how acquiring a Will worked. If it was simply through domination, there'd be many more people with Wills.
After all, one still needed to destroy the Will hidden within the bone in order for them to acquire it.
In that case, it made sense for the 'domination' thod to not work.
"The best approach is to lure its Will to follow you through an exchange. Just like you did with that foolish owl—and with ."
"Is that so?"
This made sense.
"So Wills would rather die than be forced to—"
Bang!
A deafening explosion rippled through the air, scattering chunks of ice in all directions as a blanket of snow quickly engulfed my sight.
I raised my arm to shield my eyes, stepping back to get a better view of what was unfolding. As the snow settled, I spotted Delilah, standing firmly atop the wyvern's head.
When did she...
"Surrender."
Her gaze was cold, nearly as cold as the surroundings, while the wyvern glared back at her, its defiance unmistakable from where I stood as its eyes were raised to look straight at her.
"Surrender to , beast."
Delilah's leg pressed down harder on the wyvern's muzzle, and the defiance in its eyes beca even more evident.
"Wait, stop!"
I quickly interrupted things before they could beco worse.
"….?"
As Delilah turned her head, her large crystal eyes blinked as they t mine. The way she looked at now was starkly different from how she had just monts before, throwing off with the sudden contrast.
"Keum…"
I quickly recovered with a cough and started to explain to her what Pebble had told .
"You can't ta a Will through fear and domination. You have to make a deal with them. Taming through force never works. It's highly likely the creature will never accept it."
"…Is that so?"
With a slight tilt of her head, Delilah looked montarily surprised before her gaze shifted downward to the wyvern.
Then, as her eyes t with the monster, she raised her foot.
"Uh!? What are you doing?"
I imdiately grew startled by her actions and moved towards her, stopping her just at the nick of ti.
"What?"
"What do you an what? You're just looking to kill it at this point."
"…I am."
"But weren't you trying to create a will?"
"Yes, before."
"Then…?"
Delilah looked down, her gaze eting the wyverns, which glared at her with obvious scorn. At that mont, I understood.
'Indeed, from the way things look, it does seem very improbable for her to strike a deal with it.'
The hatred and rage the monster had for her was quite clear to see. Its innate pride also prevented it from forming a Will with Delilah.
As things stood, it seed like she had no other choice but to destroy it. At the very least, she was going to get a good bone.
"Ah, what a pity."
I no longer saw the need to stop her and stepped to the side.
Noticing that I understood, Delilah lifted her foot once more, ready to end its suffering. Just as she was about to strike, a figure suddenly materialized in front of the wyvern.
"….?"
Delilah stopped once more, her large eyes blinking as Pebble stood before the wyvern.
She then imdiately turned to look at , her gaze seeming to say, 'You're seeing what I'm seeing? It's a cat…'
"The cat is with ."
It was only when I clarified things that she seed to get the ssage.
She pulled her foot back and watched Pebble with an expression of rare interest. Her pupils seed to dilate slightly as her lips tightened.
I blinked my eyes and alternated my gaze between Pebble and Delilah.
Wait…
'Why does she seem so interested? It can't be that...'
Looking down at her hands, I saw one of her fingers twitch.
Now way…
"Submit to the female woman."
Pebble's voice snapped out of my thoughts. Surprised, I turned to look at the cat, its gaze fixed on the wyvern with an unusual intensity.
It almost seed to be trying to command the wyvern.
That sight…
'It feels off.'
Not only was Pebble far weaker than the wyvern, but its size was also tiny in comparison. The wyvern dwarfed Delilah, let alone Pebble who was nothing but a small cat.
Even Delilah seed to find the situation weird, but more than that, her mouth squeezed even more.
She really seed to want to pet Pebble.
"It would be in your best interest to submit to the female human. You've already felt her power. There is no sha in yielding to the strong."
"Mph—!"
The wyvern snorted hot air from its nostrils, its gaze dripping with mockery as it locked eyes with Pebble.
"…Small and weak cat, who are you to tell to submit?"
For the first ti since the beginning, the wyvern spoke, its voice deep and crisp. The contempt and arrogance in its tone were unmistakable.
"I would rather be destroyed than submit to the female human."
Its vertical pupil shifted toward Delilah, its gaze laced with mockery.
"…She may be strong, but I co from the proud bloodline of dragons. My future is limitless, while hers is bound. I see no reason to submit to soone of inferior blood—"
"You seem very proud of your bloodline, little bird."
"Bird..?"
The wyvern shifted its gaze away from Delilah, directing it back to Pebble, who t its stare with judgntal eyes.
It almost felt like it was looking down on it.
'No, Pebble really is looking down on it…'
I had seen that gaze many tis in the past.
"Isn't that what you are? A bird that wishes to be a dragon?"
"What…?" Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire
Rumble—
The surroundings quaked as the wyvern struggled to rise. Its body was bruised and broken, yet in its fury, it managed to push itself upright despite the pain.
"What... did you say?"
A massive shadow lood over us as the wyvern rose, its towering form looking down at the small cat, who remained completely unfazed.
"...I called you a little bird with the dreams of being a dragon."
Standing next to Delilah, I saw her look with interest. Judging from her body language, she was ready to attack at any second.
On the other hand, I was a little surprised by Pebble's actions.
Pebble was certainly bold, but I'd never seen it act this way before. Could it be tied to its dragon bloodline? Perhaps Pebble naturally held itself above the wyvern-like creature, seeing its bloodline as inferior to its own.
It was just a guess, but that guess proved true shortly after.
"Cat, I may be injured, but this is enough to destroy you."
The wyvern's deep, resonant voice rumbled through the air as it flapped its wings, releasing a powerful surge of pressure. All of it focused on Pebble who blinked its large eyes, seeming completely unfazed.
At least, on the outside.
I could tell it was hardly keeping up its facade.
'I guess it's good that Delilah battered it beforehand. Otherwise...'
An image of Pebble being crushed beneath the wyvern's massive foot flashed through my mind. No, I shouldn't laugh at this... Why did the image seem so funny?
Bang!
A sudden explosion jolted , followed by another shadow looming over the area. I snapped my head up in surprise and saw a colossal figure materialize before . Its massive rocky wings unfurled, and its fra quickly grew larger than the wyverns.
"Rooooar—!"
It wasn't long before Pebble let out a deafening roar, its stone-like scales inversing as its imnse form started to dominate the surroundings, exuding an aura of sheer dominance.
Everything seed to co to a standstill then as I felt a certain gaze from my side.
When I turned my head, I was surprised to see Delilah staring at with her mouth hanging open in an 'o' shape. She looked surprised.
'No, before that...'
Since when was Delilah this expressive?
I hadn't really put much thought into it in the past, but Delilah was starting to beco more and more expressive. The usual her would've normally reacted with a simple glance before looking disinterested.
And yet...
"Little bird."
Pebble's voice suddenly echoed through the air, now deeper and more commanding than ever, causing the wyvern to take an instinctive step back in surprise.
"...I am what you might consider a dragon. You, on the other hand, are just a feeble bird trying to beco what I am. Your arrogance is unfounded."
Pebble's eyes narrowed.
"If even I choose to beco a Will, with what arrogance can you say that you don't want to?"
"I..."
"Shut up."
Pebble cut through the wyvern's voice before it could even let out its words.
"I have no interest in your excuses. Your pride holds no weight against mine. Your lineage is insignificant compared to my own. Your lifespan is but a re joke when compared to mine. Surpassing your strength is nothing more than a trivial task for ."
The more Pebble spoke, the more restless the wyvern seed to beco.
I could see the wyvern growing more and more restless. Indeed, Pebble wasn't holding back at all. It was completely and utterly aiming to shatter its pride.
But why was Pebble doing this?
Was its goal to get it angry? Why would—
"There's nothing about you that is comparable to mine. Nothing but..."
Pebble suddenly stopped, its gaze falling on Delilah. Though it didn't say anything else, its ssage was clear.
Yes, it was clear.
"...."
I opened and closed my mouth before clenching my teeth.
"Oy, bastard."
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