Dropping to the ground, the children found themselves in rather bright place. The sun was shining high in the cloudless sky. The ground and everything else were completely made of ice. Despite it being though, the place wasn't that cold and even appeared to be rather warm.
After looking around, they straightened themselves. They half expected to be sent there on the ruins directly. To them the quest appeared to be rather easy. It made it hard for them to believe that the quest took a whole century for someone to finally finish.
They wandered off the frozen forest and to the old village. Just by looking at it regardless of the destruction the village faced, one could easily tell that the it was a very prestigious place as the legend described it as.
The village structures were built with all pillars, marble walls and flooring, it was more like an ancient city rather than a normal village. It was extremely beautiful except the fact that it was almost destroyed. But because of the dragon's spell, the place was all crystal-blue. It also helped the place survive through many years.
Still, the children can't help but be bothered that no one has ever succeeded in completing such simple task. Except for the massacre that will occur, there's nothing too difficult enough for mages to handle. Of course, even if there would be ties and no team is able to survive, at least one in a decade or even half will be able to make it past to this point. The next thing they saw answered all their questions.
They saw a bunch of frozen corpse and even shattered iced blood pieces everywhere.
"That explains everything" Zakia sighed
"What do you mean? Explains what?" Aspen gaped at her
She hesitated for a moment, then she opened he mouth "I looked into the quest record. Apparently, every year, after the quest period ended, several corpses and unconscious bodies are found. The thing we just experienced explains that."
She paused for a moment then continued, "There are also people-no, parties that had gone missing without a trace. And from what I saw, they all shared the same characteristics. They are...usually the strongest, the ones able to wipe out all the other parties on their own."
Everyone stared at her for a moment "You're joking, right?" Aqua glared at her with his emotionless face
"Unfortunately, I 'm not" she replied flatly
"That doesn't sound anything right. If the strongest among all those adventurers and treasure hunters disappeared without a trace, then how come big sister Silvana is still here? Aren't the Silver serpents the strongest? What about her participating in this quest for ten years?" said Asa
"The Silver serpents weren't the strongest. They are only the second among the guild ranks" Zakia corrected him
"So basically, your saying that there's a guild that's ahead of them" said Airi, biting the stem of a rose
"Yes" she nodded "they are called the Holy wolfs, the strongest in Harmonia" She proclaimed
"I see, how are they not here then?" Airi asked, being answered by Kishi who was examining the frozen flowers with curiosity
"They must have given up after losing a lot of members without being left a word"
That can't be possible. That would probably the last thing their guild will do after their comrades mysteriously disappeared. Wouldn't they at least investigate what happened, or avenged them assuming they were dead and find whoever was responsible? (Obviously the dragon was the one responsible, but they should at least care)
However, it does sound meaningless if their members would disappear time and time again. It would be more reasonable if they just leave the case out and preserve their members except for wasting them for some pointless legendary quest that will only cause casualties. Apparently, that's what most of them thought, but they also desperately tried a couple of times before actually giving up. They are both stupid and cherished their members after all.
"That can't be" Even so, Aspen tried to argue
"Kishi was right. In fact, they just signed up an agreement that they would not participate any further in the quest and they will willingly hand over the tittle of the strongest guild to the Silver serpents, in exchange for their freedom. The public complained of course. This quest was the only remaining legend that has yet to be solved, and the thought of the most powerful guild in the world chickening out just because of loosing a couple of members. But it apparently, didn't last long" Zakia said
"I can't blame them though? They have more than enough reason to give up. Who cares if it's a legend if it'll only get you killed? I'll rather pass, right Yang?" Said Yin. Yang simply nodded
"Wow Zakia, you sure know a lot" Mythica said, amazed
Zakia blushed and proudly replied "Of course, I belong to the family of books after all. And books are knowledge. Every piece of information is necessary"
"Urgh!! I can't take all this! What are you guys even babbling about!!" Rex complained, ruffling his hair in confusion
"Idiotic dummy" said Airi
"To be honest, I never really thought that the dragon would kill those who reached this point" Said Selle earnestly, looking at the frozen bodies scattered everywhere
"What? Do you expect the dragon to lie down and let them kill it?" Shia questioned her sarcastically
"No, that's not what I meant. I just thought that the dragon was tired of living and, exhausted. Well-you know, like it wanted to end his misery by death"
Based on what the legend says, the dragon does wish to end its long misery. That was also the reason why the quest existed in the first place. The amount of treasure they will gain is only a reward in exchange of granting the poor dragon's wish of death.
But if viewed in a different perspective, the dragon does wish to perish, but it still has things it needs to protect. Even if the whole place was frozen, the remains of the people who used to live there are well preserved with the dragon's ice magic. Even if their long dead, the dragon loved them enough to keep it, and it will only be possible if the dragon is well and alive. As soon as the ice melted, the bodies will wither and disappear as it should. The dragon held onto that pain no matter how much it suffered. He was born to protect this village; this is its home. Even if it's no longer the way it used to, it was still its beloved home. The home it vowed to protect. It will hold firmly to the pain, loneliness, and guilt of slaying its own family. But the dragon will always protect it until the end of its life. The ice that covered the entire land is what keeps everything together. Once it shatters, the whole place will fall along it.
However, a great deafening roar had interrupted their talk. They all felt a great surge of magic of a terrifying extent. It was deeply frightening, that they were easily overwhelmed by the bloodlust of the cold, and heavy presence. They found it difficult to breath and kept gasping for air but found nothing. Their face instantly fades of color and drops of perspiration covered them. It was just frightening that their hands and knees trembled uncontrollably.
Aware of what gonna occur next, Pearl and Aster tried their best to gather every ounce of strength they could muster.
The dragon appeared in sight and flew at them in great speed. The two of them prepared to unleash an attack to protect everyone, yet the speed the dragon is flying toward them is too great. They won't make it.
Is that it? Does that mean that they aren't much of a difference to the mages that fell before them? Pathetic. Simply pathetic...
The dragon opened its jaw wide to swallow them whole. They thought it was the end, but something unexpected had happened. The dragon halted just before them. It closed its mouth and looked at the figure before it. A young girl was standing there in front of it, her eyes are glowing gold and dazzling long hair was dancing in the wind. Her hand was raised to him, signaling him to stop.
Startled, Kishi looked at his side to find his sister not there anymore. She managed to slip away from him and stood between them and the dragon in just half a second. He planned to step in when things get worse, but little did he expect that she would be acting like this. But he should have judging by her attitude towards this matter. But all didn't go according to his plans. Everyone was stunned and their mouths fell on the ground, not understanding what just occurred in front of them.