On the cold battlefield, I waited and waited for my husband to return. My gaze was focused on the land ahead, often switching to the sky above. Yet, there was no sign of that foolish man no matter where I looked.

My heart, although cold towards others, was burning for him like a bright fire in the middle of the night. For me, there was no other dragon I would rather be with. No matter their fame, no matter their lineage, they all paled in comparison with Alkelios.

These Dayuks were far weaker than those found in the Seculiar Forest. Actually, none of them had manes made out of metal needles, so I was wondering if they were indeed the same type of monsters in the first place.

Seeing them reminded me of the one I saw back when I first met my love, Seryanna. although it was the corrupted version, it was still far more powerful and fierce than these mutts. The difference in levels was probably huge.

From atop that cliff, the village was just a smudge on the horizon. By my guess, it was at a distance of at least ten kilometers away from where I stood. If I flew, I could easily reach it in a matter of minutes. If I ran through the forest, thanks to my agility and speed, I wouldn’t need more than half an hour.

True, I was rather eager to meet another human being, but when I remembered my previous encounters with Kronius Zevedar, I didn’t know what to expect anymore.

“You will die HERE!” growled the Skeletal Wyrm, but I ignored his worthless threat.

Razor-sharp bone spikes detached from its back and pointed their tips at me. In but a blink of an eye they hissed through the air, aiming for my heart.

The bone spears the monster threw at me were so slow I could easily change their path with a single nudge from my sword.

Upon hitting the ground around me, they rose a cloud of dust into the air. I jumped forward and slashed diagonally. The Skeletal Wyrm, which was only a gigantic animated spiky snake skeleton, didn’t had enough time to avoid my strike.

I did it... I thought as I was falling from the sky.

With that last burst of Magic Energy, I was completely depleted and wasn’t able to sustain my flight. The ground was approaching fast, and my only chance of survival if I didn’t want to end up a simple red splat on the ground was to drink a potion that would restore my Magic Energy.

“Come on!” I struggled against the wind as I took out a small blue bottle, but in my weakened state, I wasn’t able to hold on to it, and it flew out of my grasp “NO!” I screamed as I tried to catch it again, but it was to no avail.

Since this fellow wanted to start his murder spree with me, I decided to lure him out into an open area where I could fight unhindered. Although he could have stopped me from doing so, it did not seem to matter to him where we fought.

“Are you trying to avoid senseless killing?” he asked me on the way there.

“What of it?” I replied.

“It doesn’t matter, you know? Once I kill you, they will be following shortly after in Hell!” he laughed.

In this battle against the former human Alkelios, my job and duty were simple. All I had to do was help master Draejan get a better position so he could land the good strike on his foe. It was a combo attack I was forced to learn while traveling around the Dragon Continent to raise my level, see important strategic location, and to fight against various terrifying monsters. It was highly unlikely there was a dungeon I had yet to set foot in either Albeyater Kingdom or Embryger Empire.

When I first awakened to this ability, my master immediately ordered me to train it until I had complete control over it.

The moment I saw him charging at me through the air, I used Hell and Heaven to block his attack. Sparks flew as the three swords collided, and I was pushed back at a great force. His blow was heavier than that of all the previous dragons I fought against so far, forcing me to strain myself so I could resist it.

“HAAA!!!” Draejan shouted as he pushed all his magic into his sword.

When the Alkelios’ dragon roar spread through the entire battlefield, I felt a surge of energy rushing through me. Any fear and doubt I had about this upcoming battle vanished completely.

Iolaus took my hand and showed a reassuring smile.

In this war, we could fight together only thanks to our friend, Alkelios. He brought us together when we thought we were sworn enemies. He helped us grow and showed us that even opposing elements could love each other.

“That’s a lot of them...” said Kataryna.

Draejan’s army was advancing with roaring dragons soaring through the skies and soldiers numbering in the hundreds of thousands marching towards us in their half-beast forms. They were all roaring for victory, making me feel a pressure on my shoulders and soul.

We can’t win this... I was led to think, but I refused to let this false thought take hold of me.

My wife had me by my side, and in her eyes, I saw the burning will to fight and push back this invading force. Next to her was Kleo, and although Iolaus was holding her hand, I could see the determination and desire in them to fight together and not let the enemy separate them.

Looking at this battlefield where the smoke trails of those fires rose up high into the sky made me wonder just how long had it been since I last found myself pointing my blade at an army?

Around me, I had allies and friends, in front of me, I had an enemy I could freely strike down. They were all dragons who maybe had families somewhere, who were maybe kind and honest, who had dreams and felt the world like I did, but in a war, they were just slabs of meat who wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if I didn’t kill them first.

Did I have to feel bothered by this or worried or sick?

Flying up in the sky, I laid my gaze upon the battlefield stretching between Pustia town and Elden’bar city. The once beautiful fields of ripe cereals had been scorched and turned to ash. The dragons on our side struggled to keep to the flames contained while countless others put them out. The animals that once lurked around underground or above it have been turned to charcoal alongside a woods up north.

This wasn’t my doing or that of any dragon on our side. It was the act of the enemy. Their cheers for victory reached all the way up into the sky and across the plains to our side.

Ever since Alkelios returned from the Seculiar Forest, I have been more active and so has my wife, the Queen. From just occasionally visiting the throne when there was only something important that need to be solved to spending at least one hour per day here listening to various complaints and proposals of respectable nobles.

In short, our lives as King and Queen of Albeyater Kingdom were returning to how it was so many years ago before that accursed event took place.

At my wedding, I had the pleasure of being introduced to several nobles who were on good terms with the Draketerus family as well as with their Majesties, the King and Queen of Albeyater. Among them was a certain Viscountess named Allevania Reyazes, she was a beautiful dragoness with silver scales like Kataryna, but of a faded dull color when compared to hers, blond curly hair, and a bit chubby when it came to her figure. The territory she managed was to the south of Drakaria and had as a capital the town of Ruyzar. Unlike other such settlements in the Albeyater Kingdom, this one was focused on the trade of paper and writing tools.

Two months have passed since my wedding with Alkelios, and as Knight in the service of her Highness, Third Princess Elleyzabelle Seyendraugher, I had the responsibility of standing by her side, ready to obey her orders and march into battle the very moment she ordered me to do so. At the same time, I was to protect her and keep her safe. My duty also included patrolling Drakaria or some other settlement and maintaining the law and order there. It was mandatory of me to keep up with my training and if needed be I had the obligation of taking a Squire under my wing and giving them the basic Knight training before they themselves were going to pledge their loyalty to the crown an become respectable Knights.

It has been over a month since my wedding ceremony with Seryanna, and Drakaria was preparing for the beginning of the Grand Tournament of Strength and Honor, which was initiated by Draejan and now reorganized by Queen Elliessara. My friends and I didn’t really care about it. We all had more important things to deal with right now. Besides, I was already told that I won’t be participating in it. I was far too strong for the possible contestants and pinning them against me would have been completely unfair for them. But this didn’t mean that I wasn’t to have a part in it. There was going to be an exhibition match to start the tournament, through which the Queen hoped to raise the spirits of both those who were watching and those participating.

The wedding ceremony was amazing, and just by looking at the ring that now signified the fact that I was a married man made me feel like I was soaring through the sky. No longer was I a simple bachelor, I had a wife and a new family. I had finally taken one of the biggest steps a man can take in his entire life... accept the fact that he loves so much a woman that he wants to stand right there beside her for the rest of his days.

While true that I would have wanted for my human family to be here as well, I had a feeling mother would have freaked out when she saw how my beautiful bride looked like. Leaving aside the fact that she was a bit taller than me, but she had wings, a tail, and scales... Not exactly normal for an average Romanian family.

One week after my meeting with Queen Elliessara Seyendraugher of the Albeyater Kingdom, I found myself once again waiting in front of the large doors that led towards the Throne Room. The dragons managed to fix them up nicely, and no signs of my forced entry could be seen anywhere. Well, given the importance of this room and also the fact that dragons had access to magic, it was highly unlikely that it was going to stay broken for too long. It was unaesthetic first of all, and second of all, the wrath of the Seyendraugher King and that of his Prime Minister wasn’t something a worker would have wanted to bring upon himself.

Three days... Three very long and sleep deprived days... That was how long Seryanna kept me inside her room.

Although, I wasn’t one who would complain about all the passionate tumbling we did, but I was glad at least one of us knew a spell for soundproofing the room. It wasn’t the same as the barrier around the forge here, but it did the job. The spell was called [Silence] and belonged to the Darkness element. What it did was absorb all the sounds that touched the coated walls, but unfortunately it also covered the whole room in a pitch-black mantle, forcing us to use a light spell in order to see... erm details.