Facing Tania's frank words, David was struck dumb.
That's right. In the beginning, I only intended to use you.
Yet, these ice-cold words, destined to pierce Tania's heart, he simply couldn't bring himself to utter.
"Little brother, your heart is in turmoil," she said.
"Let's leave it at that for today. I need to go back and cook for our mother...
"After being away for so many days, if she wakes up and doesn't see the Dragon Food meal I've prepared, she'll definitely scold me to death..."
As she spoke, Tania slowly turned away, taking a few steps across the deck. But then she turned back to look at the silently bowing David and comforted him in a soft voice,
"Consider it again when the magma in your head has cooled down a bit.
"I can feel the anxiety, restlessness, and fear in your heart right now.
"I understand, because I know just how terrifying our mother can be.
"But David... What I want to say is, we dragons have a long life ahead.
"No matter which stage of growth we reach, we will still encounter all sorts of seemingly unsolvable problems and dilemmas.
"We can be in pain over this, be anxious, be afraid, be indecisive, even have thoughts of running away.
"But running away is always the last resort.
"Before that, we have a lot of different options, like Courage, or wisdom, for example.
"To bravely face it all, gracefully accept it all, and use wisdom to resolve it all.
"Just like now, other than running away, we actually do have other options."
As she spoke, Tania looked at David, who remained silent with his dragon wings drooping. She couldn't help walking a few steps towards him, stretching out her neck, and touching the small horn on her nose to David's head, as if sharing the Courage she had borrowed from her little brother half a month ago, back with him.
In a gentle voice, Tania said,
"If you encounter an unavoidable storm outside, consider going home, facing Mother's terror, and then seeking shelter beneath her dragon wings.
"After all, we are still just little dragonlings who broke out of our shells only five years ago.
"Occasionally hiding in Mother's embrace and being spoiled isn't disgraceful for a dragon.
"By the way, I'll tell you a secret. Once, while chatting with Mother, she accidentally let slip something.
"She said...
"She actually feels a bit...
"She missed you."
David's body shuddered. His eyes widened in disbelief, yet he was unable to suppress the palpitations in his heart. But before he could confirm it, the tearful Silver Dragon, Tania, had already turned around. Flapping her silver wings, which glistened in the sunset, she soared into the clouds above the sea.
Only a soft voice carried by the sea breeze reached his ears,
"If... Mother truly leaves you to die, when that time comes...
"I will go with you.
"Wherever you go..."
David remained stunned, an infectious, silly smile he had caught from his Silver Dragon sister on his lips. After a while, he snapped himself out of his daydream by continuously tapping his head with the tip of his tail.
And the first thing he said after coming to his senses was,
"Missed me?
"Was she daydreaming again? Or has her mother's head gone soft?
"Damn it, whatever. Let's have some fun first."
Saying so, he jumped into the frigid seawater under the astonished gaze of two Drow who were crouched in the wall-less captain's cabin, eavesdropping on the gossip.
SPLASH! His completely ungraceful entry sent up towering waves, drenching three unsuspecting Elves.
"BRRR!" The frailest Drow Mage immediately rolled on the deck, freezing.
"Ah! So cold, so cold! This Drow is going to freeze to death!
"EEK!!!"
Nearby, the High Elf Yevgeny, her eyes vacant, belatedly sat bolt upright from her dazed state, suddenly realizing she was undressed.
All the 'tortures' and humiliation she had faced over these three days and four nights came rushing back, instantly frying her barely reconnected nerves again.
She dribbled saliva like a victim of copper poisoning simultaneously suffering from epilepsy and persecutory delusions, moaning,
"GURGLE... just kill me!"
THUD! She was knocked out by a punch from the Drow Hiatt beside her. Under the desecrating control of the Soul Prism, her body twitched uncontrollably, sinking further into despair.
Hiatt, who had sent the High Elf back to her blissful oblivion, ran her fingers through her seawater-soaked hair, pushing it back. She took a deep breath and gazed at the endless Arctic Ocean. Like her Red Dragon master, she seemed to be caught in a difficult decision.
Or perhaps, from the very beginning, she never had a choice.
Because her soul was already in the grasp of the Red Dragon, whether or not he honored his promise depended entirely on him and the progression of events.
Having sold her soul to reside within the Soul Prism, she was now no more than a cold coin, to be molded at the Dragon's whim.
Things had been going fairly well, until the High Elf launched her preemptive countermeasure, turning all of Hiatt's efforts to ash.
With the High Elf poised to strike back and her master clearly unwilling to seek help from his mother, it seemed she had lost her chance to return to Spider Nest City and retrieve her brother forever.
Sometimes fate is just that cruel and mocking,
always tormenting those who try to rise above it.
Just as Hiatt's eyes were gradually becoming as cold and empty as the sea, POP! The Red Dragon broke the water's surface with a tiger-striped shark in his jaws, crashing back onto the deck. The impact made the ship's keel groan in unison.
"PTOOEY!"
David, who had just cooled down a bit, became infuriated upon realizing that what he held in his mouth was not the Bluefin Tuna he had expected. He immediately flew into a *Wrath*.
"Damn it! It's a shark!
"BLECH!
"It truly lives up to its stinking reputation!
"BLECHHHH!"
Soaked in the icy seawater and having vomited all his stomach contents, David shivered in the cold wind, his scales bristling.
Now, he had finally cooled down completely.
After Hiatt and the Drow Mage had, with some difficulty, managed to drape a sail over David's shoulders like a towel, David, feeling a bit warmer, turned to the silent Hiatt and said,
"Hiatt, according to our prior agreement, you are free to go."
Hiatt looked up incredulously.
"But… I was not able to successfully prevent the attack from the High Elf for you."
She was interrupted by David, who said,
"I am not some Devil, nor do I like playing such childish word games. I, David Uthos, keep my promises. I release you.
"And you, Hiatt, must also keep your word. After you've returned to Spider Nest City and accomplished your last wish, you will come back to me and serve me for the rest of your life, as a beast of burden or otherwise."
"YES!!!" Hiatt immediately knelt on one knee, her expression excited as she responded,
"Thank you for your gift, my master."
David couldn't be bothered to correct her that it was a matter of keeping a promise, not bestowing a gift. With a flick of his tail tip, he pointed towards the other two Elves and said somewhat impatiently,
"Take these two with you when you leave; they're an eyesore."
"Thank you, Master!"
Hiatt knew full well that her master, fearing she might not fulfill her wish, had provided her with two assistants.
The half-baked Drow Mage could be ignored.
But Yevgeny, the Dewensen Fox—a High Elf Sword Dancer completely under her control—greatly increased her originally slim chances of success.
"Now, all of you, move everything valuable off the ship."
"YES!"
As the ship's hold was emptied, Hiatt, who now had full use of the vessel, stood on the deck, still feeling as if she were in a dream.
However, the moment Hiatt started to hope, she also began to exhibit the High Elf's characteristic anxiety. Looking toward the shore where the Red Dragon was counting his treasure, she called out against the wind,
"But Master, what will you do if we leave?"
"None of your damn business!"
David didn't even bother to turn his head.
"SCRAM!!!"
*Wrath*
Hiatt immediately signaled to the other two Elves to set sail, and they swiftly made for the Arctic Ocean,
fearing that taking even half a moment too long would annoy their master, who might send both ship and Elves sky-high with a blast of Dragon Breath.
Ashore, David looked over the spread of Elven collectibles. The thought that these meager possessions, which he had fought tooth and nail to acquire, might soon no longer belong to him, made his head throb with rage, his tail lashing the ground.
"That motherf— I've truly been screwed over!!!
"ROAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!"
David transformed into a stomping, fire-breathing Dragon right there on the spot.
*Wrath* x99