My Fusion System: Fusing Weak Soldiers with Direwolves at the Start Chapter 72: Red Dragon

When the figure reached the fence, she pulled back her hood.

Silver hair spilled out like moonlight made flesh, cascading past her shoulders. It shimred faintly in the muted light, each strand catching the essence of dawn’s approach.

Kaelor blinked, briefly caught off guard.

"What are you doing outside at this hour?" he asked, his voice steady but puzzled, the sword still in hand.

The woman’s lips curved faintly, her eyes lit with sothing close to delight.

"Mildred should be awake by now. I promised to aid her in cooking today," Vi said, her voice light, holding an odd note of excitent that seed almost foreign.

Kaelor raised an eyebrow. "You... want to cook?"

"Of course." She tilted her chin upward, a hint of pride blooming in her expression. "Once Mildred finishes preparing the al, I shall taste it, to ensure it’s fit for consultation."

Kaelor’s expression soured imdiately. The slight narrowing of his eyes, the twitch in his cheek, he couldn’t hide it.

So that was her idea of aid. Not chopping, not stirring, not washing, just... tasting.

He should’ve known.

As she stepped through the short wooden door, small enough that it only reached her abdon, her eyes lingered on him. There was sothing else in her gaze now.

"I don’t know if I’m happy you were the black sheep of House Dravion," she said, voice quiet, yet it rang with weight. "It would an condoning your past acts. But still..."

Kaelor stopped, his hand tightening briefly on Ignis before he sheathed it with a quiet tallic slide. His eyes t hers.

"Why? I would’ve made an excellent Duke?"

Vi’s silver brows arched faintly, and then she chuckled. Soft and unhurried. A sound like wind teasing chis.

"You might," she said, stepping further into the fog-dusted yard. "And then my hatred might have found a different target."

Kaelor froze. "You hate Dravions?"

"Well... your father beheaded two of my brothers as his Infernal Savant Cavalry burned everything. They brought down our fort, slaughtered every soldier and every man who dared fight back. He..."

Vi’s voice faltered, not out of fear but from the weight of the mory.

She stared straight into Kaelor’s eyes, her silver hair glinting faintly beneath the moonlight. "He was a great fighter, Kaelor. That night, I understood why the Infernal Savant Cavalry was both feared and revered across the continent. I watched them descend like wraiths of fire, n cloaked in living fla, their warhorses transford into nightmarish beasts blazing with heat and wrath. Their helts masked their faces, making them faceless demons of war. They didn’t feel human and we just could not match them."

"You’re here."

The door creaked open, revealing Mildred, her eyes still drowsy, a lantern held firmly in her hand.

"I am," Vi answered with a slight smile, and just like that, the pain and sorrow in her voice vanished, like morning fog chased away by the rising sun.

Kaelor stood still for a mont, silently observing her. He knew of the Infernal Savant Cavalry, how could he not?

One of the most formidable cavalry forces ever assembled, founded by Duke rlin Dravion himself, the ancient progenitor of House Dravion.

Stories spoke of the day Duke rlin discovered a strange Focus Crystal unlike any other, the Ignital Crystal. It shimred with sun-hot energy, a fla untouched by wind, water, or ti. It was said to hold a piece of the sun’s wrath. With it, he gained command of flas so potent they could lt stone and boil rivers.

That mastery earned him the na: Red Dragon.

With the Ignital Crystal, he birthed the Infernal Savant Cavalry, soldiers and steeds bathed in its terrible might. Only those whose bodies could endure a fraction of its fla were chosen. The crystal’s influence transford them into creatures of fury and fire, leaving scorched earth in their wake.

It was said that every Duke of House Dravion wore the Ignital Crystal upon his neck, an heirloom passed from one generation to the next, its fire never dimming despite the centuries.

Yet... what troubled Kaelor now was a quiet thought, how had the crystal not faded with ti?

From the fragnted mories inherited from the Kaelor of the past, he could clearly recall its appearance: a dark crimson gem, pulsing like a heart, with glowing tallic veins threaded through it, veins identical to the ones in Vi’s Diamond-ranked Focus Crystal. The resemblance wasn’t exact, but it was enough to plant unease in his mind.

Shaking his head, Kaelor sighed. He turned away from the silent night and entered the house. Whatever secrets the crystal held, whatever legacy the Infernal Savant Cavalry carried, they had nothing to do with a man presud dead.

He made his way to the bathroom, the stone floor cool beneath his bare feet, then to his chamber and into bed, letting his thoughts fade as sleep slowly claid him.

....

When it was nearly noon the next day, Kaelor sat in the lord’s hall, enjoying a modest yet richly flavored al, a steaming bowl of stew filled with tender at from Jon’s hunt, seasoned with wild herbs and root vegetables gathered by Mildred.

The warmth of it lingered in the air, mingling with the faint scent of woodsmoke and pine drifting through the open windows.

He lifted his head between bites, his wooden ware pausing midair. Across the room, Mildred sat with her usual poise, the worn leather-bound witch booklet cradled in her hands, the sa one he had given her earlier that morning. Her fingers traced its edges curiously, a faint frown of concentration on her brow.

’Fuse it with her.’ Kaelor said.

[100 FP deducted!]

Its pages began to flutter wildly as if caught in a storm, though no wind moved. Words ignited, blue flas crackling along the text, burning without consuming. The flas snaked up like ethereal serpents, dancing with intelligence, then rushed forward and slipped between her brows in a stream of living fire.

Mildred arched slightly in her seat, her body stiffening as the power entered her.

The booklet fell from her hands, now blank, its purpose fulfilled.

Monts passed. She breathed heavily, her lips parting slightly as though caught between wakefulness and a dream. Her eyelids fluttered, trembling over shut eyes as the magic settled into her bones and mind.

Then, she opened them.

A gleam, cold and potent, flashed through her gaze.

And just for a heartbeat, Kaelor could swear her pupils shimred with ancient runes.