Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

THE BALL

“This new guy is a very different entity from Yuri. That man was a lunatic. He tore down cities for fun and was very unpredictable. We still don’t know how Raya was able to find and defeat him, even though it cost her life,” the king said.

“There’s still no proof that they are connected, but for now we will treat it as such,” Ara said.

Alex cursed under his breath. He would certainly confront Adamas with this. Was he connected to the man who killed his sister? If he was, he would kill him on that spot.

“Stay away from him, Aroha. Raya went after him for a reason. But a part of me worries that history might repeat itself. So, be careful and stay away from this matter if you are not with either Ara or Zenon. Don’t go in alone,” Delilah said.

It was as though she saw through Aroha. She hadn’t seen them in years but she remembered how she was growing up. Aroha and Zhiyi were so much like Raya and Miya. Aroha was more like Raya while Zhiyi was more like Miya. And even though the two were inseparable, Raya went on her own to find Yuri Azar – the sorcerer responsible for the death of her beloved. Miya blamed herself for a long time for not realizing it. When Rale – the man with whom Raya fell in love with disappeared, both Miya and Alex accused him of abandoning her. only Gero was of a different opinion. Even at that, they all discouraged her from looking for him. They were in the middle of a war. And that was how they lost Raya. She stopped talking about it and one day, they couldn’t find her. The rest was history. History that Delilah would hate to repeat itself.

“Oh. And there is something I forgot to add. We came across a prophecy. The Tempest will either save the world or destroy it,” Delilah said.

“What does that mean?” Aroha asked.

“My darling, I hope we never have to find out.”

Those words were exactly like what the wyvern had told her. It was beginning to seem like something she ought not to keep a secret anymore.

***

Alex waited for days for Adamas to summon him but he never did. Their hideout could not be accessed unless Adamas summoned him. That was how they kept it hidden from everyone else. Even Jerome Leroya – who was a sorcerer supreme never caught a whiff of it. Adamas hid it perfectly. He thought of many things he could do to get the truth out of Adamas. If he did find out that Adamas was linked to his sister’s death, he still needed to be careful. Adamas wasn’t someone he could attack unprepared, especially not within the hideout. He seemed to have a lot of control over the place. And their allies would certainly defend him. Even though facing him in public would be difficult, he could always sell them out to the kingdom. Perhaps that was why Adamas was being careful with him. And he had to be. He didn’t care for Adamas’s goal when he asked him to help him bring down the royal family. He didn’t care why Adamas approached him. All he cared about was revenge. The question was, revenge about what?

***

Life went on as usual in Croft kingdom for the next week. There were no incidents. Well, except that every night since the day Pan and Delilah returned, there had been a pair of intruders that were accosted in front of the Laboratorium. One sorcerer and one swordsman. Sometimes it was a beast human instead of a swordsman. But there was always a sorcerer. They had gotten so accustomed to their approaches that neither Ara nor Zenon needed to watch the Laboratorium anymore. The guards were more than up to the task. Occasionally, they would change their attempts, but the guards were certainly competent enough.

Ara and Zenon couldn’t guard the place at all times. That was why the capital had guards. They had both concluded that the intruders were not too much to handle. Ara spent most of his time with Kiro while Zenon helped out Vela to train Aroha and Zhiyi in the training camp. It was a place created especially for those three, but Ara still stuck with using the capital as his training ground instead. The girls were pitted against soldiers in one-on-one combat without having to rely on the death palm. At first, they lost woefully each time, but slowly, they learned how to use the druid mana to boost their physical abilities – something that neither Gero nor Miya taught them. It was not as effective as the beast mana but it came in handy. They learned how to use it in their daily activities. Before then, they used it randomly without being aware of it.

Vela mentioned that Gero and Miya were able to do this at all times. The girls were quite surprised that their parents never taught them that but taught them the death palm. Alex was well versed in it as well. Aroha seemed the more shocked of the two. Zhiyi expected that much. Forgetting what he had become, Alex used to be one of the best druid humans ever. He was a splendid warrior as he was a healer. It was surprising to many that he chose to leave both paths. To many, he was a legend. It was for that reason that the Renoff clan became the ruin that it was – a clan of aristocrats that were no better than the average healer.

Vela gave them some time off and the girls were glad. But she only spoke after she was sure Zenon had left. “I am quite curious though, what happened between the two of you the last time?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Aroha said abruptly.

“Oh, it wasn’t nothing,” Zhiyi interjected. “Well, now it isn’t,” she added.

“Zhiyi,” Aroha said under her breath. But that didn’t get her little sister to shut it. She was dying to let it out.

And she did.

***

“I take it that you would be participating in the contest then?” Ara said.

“Certainly. And I’ll win it over the head of your precious student,” Aroha replied.

Ara turned to Kiro. “Well aren’t you a lucky man. You’ve already got yourself a pair of rivals.”

Kiro couldn’t care less what Aroha said much less what she wanted. He was apathetic towards things like rivals and friends – everything that screams camaraderie. He was open to the idea of getting stronger. Ara had made it clear the difference between them. If he would ever truly taste freedom, he needed strength. His ideology of freedom was somewhat different from most. Ironically, it was similar to Aroha’s – the choice to be left alone. But that likeness created friction between them. Almost like the law of magnets – like poles repel. But neither realized it. The aggression they portrayed, although one was more specific, was the very reason they couldn’t get along. While Aroha was more expressive about hers, Kiro chose the more passive route.

“Hope you can keep up though, angry bird. I’m not an easy target,” Ara teased. It did not matter how serious she was. It was impossible to be stronger than him. It was etched in his mind. So much so that even if he were to be born in the glory days of the divine creatures, it would not change a thing. There was simply no one more powerful and that would never change. Ara was not the only one to share this thought. Zenon strongly believed this as well. it wasn’t just because they never experienced first-hand how powerful the divine creatures were. It was a sense of feeling that they reached after attaining the highest levels. They saw and felt things differently from everyone else. But the terrifying thing was that there were others like them, however few they were.

“I’ll save you for last. There are a lot of you on my list. Vela, my parents,” she said before her eyes stuck on Kiro for a while. Something irked within her, but she let it out anyway. “Kiro,” she finally said. “And there’s you, Zenon,” she said softly. A complete contrast from her usual tone. Even the ever-calm Zenon was flustered.

“And there’s you too,” Aroha said as she wrapped her arms around Zhiyi’s shoulder.

“Are you admitting that you just might be the worst in this circle?” Zenon teased. He was finally interested in the conversation.

“In some ways. But who cares about the past? I’ll surpass you all before you know it,” Aroha said confidently.

“But, we’re in the present,” Zenon iterated.

“In a few months we won’t,” she riposted with a smug look on her face.

***

There was silence in the room for what felt like forever. Aroha stared straight at Zenon’s face too long for comfort. She didn’t know why, but it felt right. Zenon didn’t break the stare either. His face was lit up with his usual smile. At that moment, she started to notice the features that she ordinarily ignored. He was handsome, almost enough to be called pretty. His pretty dark eyes, well-shaped nose. His lips look pursed as if he was leaning to kiss her. Or were his eyes creating an illusion. She screamed at the back of her head. She was becoming just like Zhiyi! This was certainly what the other girls suffered. Honestly, she couldn’t blame them. It was hard not to be attracted by all his features.

He donned his usual blue and black robe with his black undervest’s sleeve poking out. He wore that most of the time and this time was no different. His long black hair was packed into a ponytail. His dark eyes glistened as he smiled softly at her. Did he know what he was doing to her?

Zhiyi felt a mix of emotions. Aroha was receiving the attention she hoped to receive. Everyone at the capital seemed a lot more concerned about Aroha than they were about her. It didn’t matter much to her before, but seeing Aroha and Zenon stare at each other that way stirred a feeling within her that she didn’t know existed. She hated herself for feeling that way. But she couldn’t help it. Well, at least there was still Ara. The same Ara who never gave her a second look. The same Ara whose face was red with annoyance as he observed the two. It was the first time she noticed that look on his face as well. He always wore a smug look.

***

“Wait, you think Ara and Zenon have a thing for Aroha?” Vela asked. But she seemed less surprised than they expected.

“Yes. And I got all jealous and lashed out. Wait, why don’t you seem surprised? I expected like a heavy gasp from you or something?” Zhiyi asked. Even Aroha, who minutes ago would have wanted the earth to swallow her, was interested in Vela’s answer.

“I can certainly see why. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were any of you. Besides, why do you think the king wanted you two in the capital so badly?” Vela said.

It was the first time they had heard that. King Reagan Croft was trying to matchmake his son Ara with one of the Renoff daughters? Why didn’t their parents ever mention it?

“Oh, don’t be surprised you’re hearing it for the first time. The grand healer was the one who mentioned it. Apparently, it was a personal conversation between her and the king. I doubt Ara even knows about this either,” Vela added.

Aroha and Zhiyi were silent for a while. They knew how much the king admired their parents but not to this extent. While it might have been good news to Zhiyi before, she knew that Ara was interested in Aroha and not her. The same with Zenon as well.

“Which begs the question, which one will you be going with to the ball?” Vela asked.