Damien and August shot past all of the greatest sights of Arulion without any thoughts in mind but those of enjoying every mont of their flight.
August flapped his wings with everything he had, enjoying the rush of wind against his face and the feeling of the world zooming by as if it were incorporeal.
This wasn't a speed he could reach on his own. Not in the slightest.
Damien was supporting him with mana and allowing him to personally experience what it was like at the peak of a dragon's power.
It was truly sothing amazing. To fly in tandem with soone he admired more than anything else in the world was a dream for August, especially since that person was his own father.
And even when they landed on the ground and returned to their human forms, the feeling he felt in the clouds didn't leave him in the slightest.
As August reveled in new sensations, Damien approached the ancestral dragons who'd waited for their return.
"Once again, I thank you all for your help in this matter," he said, giving them a slight bow.
They'd all retreated from the world not because they were lazy, but because they didn't support the way the current Arulion was being managed.
Dragons were ant to be free creatures, not a people restrained by their own society.
Arulion worked too hard to mimic human culture, and as those at the top actively worked to suppress those below them, a majority of dragons had been turned into wastes.
To the outside world, Arulion was a haven for dragons, a place where they could live without persecution.
However, that reputation was rely the product of rumors. The real Arulion was nothing like that.
Not anymore, anyway.
"It is no trouble."
The one who responded was the sa green dragon who led the pack when they arrived. He, Alcharist Revell, was originally a Holy Dragon comparable to those ruling the kingdom now, but as his elent of Wood wasn't common enough for him to form an entire clan, he couldn't stand against the others and was eventually cast out.
He never tried to retaliate, because revenge simply wasn't in a Wood Dragon's nature. Still, that didn't an he didn't wish to see change in the kingdom.
It was just that he knew he wasn't the person who would start the revolution.
"I hope you can deliver on what you promised us."
Damien looked at each and every one of them.
So were strays who'd made it to the top through brutal struggle. So were disowned mbers of royal clans, while others more were dragons as old as ti who had watched the kingdom change and devolve.
They all had the sa thing in mind when Damien ca to visit them. They all saw the exact sa spark in his eyes.
And when he made them that promise, they found themselves unable to reject.
Damien smiled.
"All of you can see it for yourselves, can't you?" He said confidently.
"Your future emperor…do you think he will lead you into ruin?"
He turned to look at the little boy currently playing in the field they stood in. The little boy who was loved by both nature and mana.
The ancestral dragons joined him with the sa expression on their faces.
"Indeed. If it is him, then maybe this kingdom can be led to a better place."
A heart as pure as his, untouched by the corruption of the upper echelon…if it was allowed to thrive, then there was no telling what kind of miracles would happen.
He had only just accepted himself as a dragon. He didn't know it yet because of that.
Realistically, he was only four years old. Yet, his dragon form was already so breathtaking.
These ancestral dragons who'd seen geniuses rise and fall knew what that ant, but, after all, Damien knew best.
The heir to the Azure Dragon's throne was no soft persimmon.
And now that he had properly reached his starting line, he would be unstoppable.
***
Arulion was already a hidden world. The real Western Region was just a heap of undeveloped land. The Dragon Kingdom was superimposed on it in a different direction created by the Ether Clan.
However, even it contained worlds within.
Because of the structure of Arulion's central region, the Holy Dragon Clans wouldn't have enough space to accommodate themselves without going to war with each other. They built their palaces in the absolute center of the territory, but these could, at most, be called embassies.
They were used when visitors arrived, or when events needed to be held. Otherwise, they were just there for show.
The Holy Clans had their real territories anchored to those palaces, existing as separate worlds that spanned for hundreds of thousands of kiloters.
Despite creating a human-like society for Arulion, the Holy Clans themselves enjoyed the privileges of a real dragon.
Their territories were mostly natural. They lived in caves filled with treasure, and had more than enough space to give each and every mber a territory they were happy with.
It was a little funny, but it was equally tragic. Even the ancestral dragons living away from the world believed that Arulion's royalty was straying away from their true lineage as dragons, but they were wrong.
They just made sure that they were the only ones who experienced its bliss, while all other dragons were forced to live in cramped cities, suppressed.
In one of those hidden realms belonging to the Liqua Clan, two people stood in front of a koi pond.
They had humanoid forms, but were clearly not human. They made sure that even when they were choosing a smaller form for convenience, others would still see their pride as dragons.
"Did you sense it?" The man among them asked his female companion, his gaze focused on the koi pond.
"I did, however, it cannot be real," the woman responded, not a shred of doubt in her mind.
"'That man' died when we killed him. I still rember the feeling of my claws in his heart. For his mana to appear now, it must be the result of so sort of coincidence. If not, then soone has discovered so of his treasures."
The most obvious reason was the awakening of one of his descendants, but as the woman said, that was simply impossible.
That man was dead. Even if he had descendants, it was far too late for them to hatch now.
"Nevertheless, it is worth investigating."
"Just send a few children. There is no need to try too hard when nobody else knows of its existence but those who discovered it."
That distinctive aura could only be felt by those of the Liqua Clan. As long as the other Holy Clans were unaware, their only competition was the dragons who lived in Arulion. And they…
"At most, they can only be practice targets for our geniuses. Now that the heir wars are approaching…"
The woman's eyes sharpened.
"...we must co out victorious."
She didn't finish with the words she actually wanted to say, but the man understood what she ant.
"Right, our enemies now are the other Holy Clans. 'His' treasure can wait until it is over."
The woman nodded, but as the two continued to stare into the koi pond, the man's brows furrowed.
Regardless of the woman's opinion, he couldn't believe that anything could be so coincidental.
'If its children…'
Then he knew exactly who to send.
A few geniuses that even the ancestral dragons outside couldn't touch.
As long as they were deployed, he'd get his answers as fast and efficiently as possible.
And anyone who could possibly get in their way…
Well, their only fate would be death.
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