Chapter 196: Kargryxmor and Hestia.

Chapter 196: Kargryxmor and Hestia.

Cute granddaughter I dunno, it honestly sounded a bit too weird coming from a giant, intimidating, arm-crossing dragon. The contrast between his appearance and what he said was so gap moe, it makes it hard for me to understand what his personality is supposed to be.

Kargryxmor, the Black Tyrant of the Sky. According to Yorshka, Kargryxmor was the strongest and one of the oldest dragons to have ever lived in Peolynca, ruling over the skies over Miononbolax and the surrounding ocean. Having made the other dragons of legends the ancestors of the five kinkyuro dragonewt clans and the five empresses of the current dragon emperor, excluding my mother bow to him through strength, he founded Kargryx as a country in order to rule over all dragons.

This very legend was now standing before me as the God of Dragons and Oaths. Despite being a fire dragon, his scales were colored jet black with small accents of dark red on the edges, making it look like cooled lava. The scales on his stomach were of a lighter color, grey, while his spikes and horns glistened like radiant obsidian.

As a two-legged dragon, my grandfather stood before me with his well-proportioned arms crossed, looking like a stern, well-built old man. His tail was thick around his butt, but became slimmer the further away it was from his body, looking nowhere close to my dragon forms tail though it did have some similarity to my dragonewt tail, just missing the tail spikes.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

As I continued looking at him, my eyes couldnt stop taking a look at his massive wings. They were far longer and larger than his main body, complete with red-glowing webbings and pitch-black scales, looking like actual limbs with the four claws at the end of them. As he noticed me staring at them, he had his wing-hands grab each other and fold close, making his wings look like a long cape. It gave me some overlord emperor vibes.

Child. Kargryxmors voice wasnt as deep as I imagined, it sounded average, like an ordinary older man. Of course, despite opening his mouth whenever he spoke, his voice was transmitted through some sorta telepathy and it was booming inside my mind.

Y-Yes, God Kargryxmor. As I was shivering down here from his sheer presence, Kargryxmor nodded his head for some reason, before his body transformed into black particles. Condensed into a smaller body, Kargryxmor reappeared, looking a bit like a dragonewt, although it really was just a smaller version of himself.

Control your fear, little whelp. You stand not before a predator, but your ancestor. I wish not for you to tremble before me on our first meeting, a meeting I have been awaiting for far too long now. Come, we speak. This piece of your soul must return soon, so time is of the essence. His voice did not invoke fear, on the contrary, it was rather soothing. Not as comforting as Aurenas, but his voice has the sorta familial charm, as if this God of Dragons was speaking to his own child. Well, in my case, I technically am his granddaughter.

And here I thought I was his great-great-great-great-great-whatever amount-granddaughter, at first.

I took in a deep breath, controlling my shaking soul until I could move it again. I closed my mouth, gulped down some spit, and began massaging my hands to calm myself. I then looked up into the Dragon Gods eyes, nodded at him, and stood up from my chair.

Good. Fear is no shame, as it is the quintessential ingredient for the birth of courage. I will make my intentions for this meeting clear. First, I must talk with you about the current situation in Kargryx. Second, Goddess Aurena has asked me to give you some advice for your travels, Kargryxmor stated, looking aloof after praising me. However, I believe we must first settle some other concerns first. Hestia, my descendant, I believe you have questions. Allow me to hear them.

You arent mad? The first thing that came out of my mouth was a confused remark. I remembered how I wanted to separate myself from Kargryxmor, how I complained about him and Aurena leaving me alone in the Belzac forest, and how I went against his wish and rejected the escort he sent over to me.

I was sure he was angry. I was anticipating it the whole time.

Kargryxmors left wing let go of his right wing, using it to scratch his jaw like a wizard touching his beard to think. Anger? Anger at you? Little, not worth mentioning. Why do you ask?

Huh?

I mean, arent you angry at me for, you know, not meeting you earlier? I could have been speaking with you far earlier if I had not killed your first set of escorts and then fled the second one. I mean, Astalos was an ardent follower of yours, and I killed him. Sure, I guess you planned this with Aurena, but I thought you would be more irritated, I explained, but Kargryxmor didnt react much to it.

Why should I worry about you slaying some wyverns? I was more angered when I saw them failing to fulfill my Quest. Incompetence. If I still had some sway over the lacking dragon youths of this age, I would have sent them to pick you up, but, alas, their lack of faith in me forced me to rely on lesser dragonkins, Kargryxmors expression contorted into disgust as he thought of the wyverns he sent me, showing the anger I thought would be directed toward me. On the contrary, you have made me proud; elated to see your growth. You survived alone as a G rank whelp inside a forest filled with nothing but enemies, struggling to reach the same rank that a Kargryxmor normally should have been born into. You ask if I would denigrate your efforts? Preposterous.

Kargryxmor hatchlings were meant to be born as C ranks, but I was an early birth. Without all the blessings and the fact I had my mind from my past life, it would have been impossible for me to survive as a G rank in the Belzac forest. The first day alone was already a close call. I did feel a bit happy to hear Kargryxmor shower me in praises, but I did not feel safe to thank him just yet.

Yes, we could have met sooner, but a year is nothing to either a god or a dragon. I also would have liked you to fully embrace your bloodline by taking a black dragon evolution, but your mutations have turned you into a magnificent dragon with shimmering scales and abilities worthy to hold my blood. Astalos might have just been a wyvern, but he was formidable in his own right. You did well enough against someone far above you in levels and combat experience. Kargryxmors mouth curved into a smile. Those wyverns did well to allow you to demonstrate to me your abilities. They might have failed their original task but they have made me confident you will be able to fulfill the goal I set for you.

You dont seem to hold those wyverns in a good light. Werent they your followers? They died for you but it sounds like it sounds like you couldnt care less about them. It was unnerving for me to hear this from him. Aurena seemed to at least care about her followers even if she had her ruthless moments.

Wyverns are lesser dragonkin, beings who cannot stand up against us dragons. To me, a lesser dragonkin is nothing. To me, a wyvern is similar to a human or an ant. I gulped. I only respect the strong. If a wyvern or human manages to contest against me, then I will give them the respect they deserve. To me, even the true dragonkin and the dragonewts bearing our blood are uninteresting if they cannot prove themselves.

But I knew speaking against a god wasnt the wisest idea, especially if it isnt someone like Aurena. However, my gut told me I could and I should speak up against the way Kargryxmor was thinking. My sentence was interrupted, but he didnt seem annoyed.

Do not try, Hestia. I do not care what opinion you have on this topic, and I would dislike it if you tried to change my mindset, as if yours is the righteous choice. When you have lived as long as I have, all you can do is look down on others. Respect can only be earned. Kargryxmors wings formed back into a cape. Enough about this topic. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?

Yes, I replied. It was a question Ive been asking myself since the beginning. Why me? Why did you choose me to be reincarnated? Im just one of many, someone not even worth mentioning back on Earth.

As depressing as it sounded, it was the truth. Aurena already explained that she chose me due to my dream to become an idol, that she felt I would be the best one for the job as this dream could motivate me to help Aurena. Even with my past memories erased, it would still drive me forward. The only question is, why exactly me? I bet other boys and girls would have had the same unfulfilled dream.

Kargryxmor, understanding the meaning of my question, allowed himself to think. For a couple of moments, the realm was silent, only to be broken by the Dragon Gods voice. I despise oath breakers. I have always hated them. Lies are for the weak, subterfuge is for those who cannot confront others head-on. This mentality sounds inflexible but it is far from it. I understand that sometimes fighting must be avoided, that combat is not the only way to resolve a situation. An emperor who cannot use both diplomacy and violence to open the way forward is a failure. I was forced to learn this lesson to uphold my oath to Kargryx and my followers.

He continued after pausing, It is true that your soul wasnt anything special, Hestia. Goddess Aurena wanted somebody to gather followers better and I needed somebody who will never go back on their oaths, their promises. You might not have been special, but you were the choice the two of us agreed on.

I had a dream I wanted to fulfill desperately, to the point I swore not to cry until I became one. Although I couldnt keep this promise after coming to Peolynca, my dedication to it made me a candidate for Aurena. The fact I even made this promise in the first place and kept it ongoing until Saori gave me that speech, impressed Kargryxmor. These two parts of my past self were what should have been left in me after I was reborn and had my memories wiped.

Dont second-guess yourself, Hestia. You were our first attempt and you have vastly surpassed our expectations. Your birth is not important, what makes you valuable and special is what you decide to do with your life. Even I had to shed blood and sweat to become even a footnote for the scholars. Kargryxmors tail moved, patting me softly on the head. There is still much I want you to do, but you have already impressed me, my Granddaughter.

You are my Schatz. My treasure in German. I love you, **k***

Your Papa and Mama will always support you. Your dream is our dream, **k***

Fuck Papa. Mama.

Memories hidden inside the cracks of my soul emerged, causing me to remember certain memories of my past. I could hear it. I could hear something similar to a name as my soul felt like weeping. Saori and Tasianna had already told me several times that I was special, that I was unique. I already felt special just from having friends like them. Kargryxmor was a stranger to me, so why did I feel this same urge to cry?

Dammit. I havent even accepted you as my grandfather yet, dont make me want to cry

After calming myself down, I told Kargryxmor I was ready to hear why he wanted to summon an otherworlder to Peolynca. And the reason was

Still, why would they think I was interpreting Aurenas words?

Noticing my confusion, Kargryxmor continued. Aurena cannot interfere, as this is a worldly issue. Yes, the summoning of the heroes was something we gods could interfere with, but the interfering foreign power is gone now. The demonkins, themselves, did not summon the heroes, they simply petitioned the gods who did. Not punishable.

Kargryxmor then summoned his admin window and showed me my profile, pointing at my age. Hestia, the reason why I said you had a limited amount of time in the divine realm was due to the risk of overloading your soul with words. Goddess Aurena should have informed you already. The Demon of Lust currently has some of her mana mixed into Ellaines soul, making her able to visit the divine realm since the demon is a demi-god, but not as long as you. No champion or saint of Aurenas can do this.

I can understand Ellaine, but why am I an exception? Also, why not send the champions and saints a System message? I asked since this was something I needed to know.

A mortals soul isnt the strongest, and yours wasnt either. However, since your soul had no vessel when you died, we took our time to allow your soul to attune itself to a gods aura. [The Light] is a result of this, something we gods cannot replicate on living followers since their bodies would just explode. You had to accept Aurena first for the title to begin working.

So when I prayed to Aurena to keep Rajah and his family safe, that was when I accepted Aurena as a goddess?

Kagryxmor then sighed after his explanation. As to why we cant rely on system messages, it is because the message rarely ever reaches them intact. Do you understand why I used the word interpret? If the message isnt pitifully easy to understand, our followers would try to analyze every detail of the message. As zealous as Goddess Aurenas followers are, they would not accept the fact the youngest and newest champion understood the words of their goddess better than they could.

So many issues.

So, what do you want me to do with this information? I wondered.

Tell this to your party, tell this to the heroes. Make these allies of yours stronger. The people you can trust. According to what Goddess Aurena showed me, I believe the best excuse you can give people about your Divine Quest is to say, I am supposed to bring union between all Peolyncian races. Humans do not consider grimgarians or demonkins Peolyncians, and it keeps your goal vague while fitting Goddess Aurenas teachings, Kargryxmor gave a good reply, something I could agree with.

However

Isnt this lying? I thought dragons didnt lie?

M-My sweet granddaughter, sometimes not revealing the whole truth is acceptable. Technically, Goddess Aurena wants you to unite the humans with the dwarves, elves, dragonewts, and levianewts to form a coalition against the demonkin princes of sins, right?

Hmph. Nice come back, old man.

I accepted Kargryxmors suggestion, believing information should be controlled. I also did not want the demonkins to take notice of me just yet, although, if they had agents in Artorias already, it might be hard to conceal it.

Good. This is all. Time is soon over. Kargryxmor closed his eyes and nodded, returning to his aloofness.

Thank you very much, God Kargryxmor. Ill try my best to fulfill what you and Goddess Aurena have tasked me with. Kargryxmor nodded, smiling. He was probably expecting me to leave now, but I want to ask him something else. One last question, I heard you call me my cute granddaughter. Did you really say that? Did you?

Go now, otherwise your soul might explode.

Hehe, old man.

Having my chuckle, I closed my eyes, saying goodbye and returning back to the altar room inside the temple of Griffonpeak. When I opened my eyes to check the surroundings, I noticed something wet flowing down my face. When I touched it, I realized I actually cried a bit.

Verdammt. What am I supposed to do with this whole dragon family thing? Haaaaa, I dont know what the correct answer is

There was also something else I noticed: the tips of my hair were white.

Saori and Tasianna did mention my hair turned white when I prayed. Is it cause Im talking to Aurena? Maybe I should ask this the next time I meet her.

As the white tips disappeared the moment I noticed them, I shook my head and shoved these two issues to the back of my mind, picked up Ellaines unconscious body and looked into my storage for the demon orb. As Aurena mentioned, it was broken, but I still needed to confirm something.

Lust?

Two eyes revealed themselves on Ellaines two rings, staring at me in anticipation. A voice entered my mind. [Yes, dear?]

Dont try to corrupt Ellaine. I can destroy you at any time, I gulped a bit. I knew [Shine] worked on it, so I imagined I could probably destroy the rings in their current state, but I still felt some fear for the demon.

[Of course, dear. I will be a sweet, good girl just for you and little Ellaine.

Goosebumps, urgh.

With my business done, I decided to leave the church and find a place to stay at, probably Ellaines family. The moment I opened the door, several men and women in silver armor with blue and green tints stood in front of the door. As they stared at me, I couldnt help but widen my eyes.

W-What is going on?!

I apologize, Lady Hestia, the one to answer my question was High Bishop Theodore. Apparently, the magic field surrounding Griffonpeak had detected an unidentifiable visitor. Someone who had not registered themselves at the gates

My jaw dropped, instantly incriminating me. One of the armored men took off his helmet and bowed to me. Lady Priestess, as members of the Knight of the Lionheart, we must ask you to come with us for questioning. Unlawful entry into our kingdoms capital must be taken seriously, even if you are a priestess of the Goddess.

Theodore nodded, urging me to be civilized. Lady Hestia, I suggest you accompany them. Everything will be alright once dawn comes, I can promise you this.

I had no other option.

May I have a lawyer?