"General Winters! There's a huge problem!"
Silvia Winters looked up when the kobold came running into her command tent. She recognized him as Kelvin, the leader of the Grey Hunters squad – a unit famed for their ferocity and speed.
"What is it, Kelvin?"
"The…the dragons are here!"
Silvia frowned skeptically, not sure if she had heard the kobold right. Dragons? This far south of the Demonic Empire?
She had left a small garrison in Bravia and returned to her domain, south of the Demonic Empire and straddling the borders with the human kingdom, so as to oversee defenses. The human armies continued to probe here and there, but ever since the loss of Bravia, they had hesitated to commit anything more than a token invasion force that numbered less than three hundred.
It seemed that the humans were also sick of losing more of their soldiers to pointless skirmishes.
That said, spies had alerted her that there were movements from the old Hero parties. While there seemed to be some kind of problem with the strongest Hero party – apparently, the Hero Herman and his Priestess wife, Irene, had fallen ill and had been taken to a temple of the Holy Church to convalesce – the other Hero parties had gathered in their groups once more to try and push the demons back.
Evidently, there was some cause for alarm, but even the spies weren't privy to that level of detail. That was fine. Silvia appreciated that they risked their lives to gather information deep inside enemy territory. She couldn't ask anything more.
But she had never imagined that the dragons would show up in her territory shortly after she had returned to resume leadership over the defenses at the border garrisons. The dragons, like the vampires, were an aloof race. No, worse than that. The vampires might be arrogant and tended to isolate themselves from the other demons, but the dragons were aggressive and warlike, often trying to exert their dominance over the other demonic races. They often believed that they should be the ruling race. That the Demonic Emperor should come from within their ranks.
Those ambitions had been dealt a massive blow during the last war, when the multiple Hero parties combined forces to subdue and slay their Divine General, Tiamattra. Known as the Mother of Dragons, she was the most powerful Divine General among the twelve and was personally responsible for exterminating three Hero parties on her own before she eventually succumbed to her wounds.
As a side note, the "strongest" Hero party was quick to capitalize on the sacrifice of their fellow Hero parties to charge into the palace and slay the Demonic Emperor. Silvia was sure that if it wasn't for Tiamattra's demise and the subsequent collapse and retreat of the surviving dragons – who were thrown into a disarray by the loss of their leader – the so-called "strongest" Hero party would never have been able to break into the castle.
Silvia was also certain that the so-called "strongest" Hero party wouldn't be in any condition to confront the Demonic Emperor if they had participated in the fight against Tia. The humans wouldn't have suffered such grievous losses and lose so many Heroes, but Herman and his party would definitely have been too badly wounded to take on the Demonic Emperor.
What scum, taking advantage of their comrades and stealing all the glory for themselves.
Shaking her head, Silvia forced herself back into the present and stepped out of the command tent. Immediately, she found herself standing in the shade of behemoths. She raised her head and caught sight of an entire flock of dragons. Not as many as when they were at their prime, but still a sizeable force. Each dragon was the equivalent of a hundred human soldiers, and there were at least twelve of them.
The largest among them – quite obviously the leader – descended with a flap of his wings and landed in front of her. Covered in armored scales the color of ruby, with spikes running along his neck, back and tail, and wings that were each the size of a small house, the fiery dragon towered over the Witch of Winter, his glowing golden eyes glowering at her.
Silvia was not at all intimidated, despite the vast difference in size. What she lacked in sheer strength, she more than made up for in magic. Even the dragons were wary of her legendary ice spells, and the rest of the swarm kept a respectful distance. The crimson dragon in front of her dipped his head slightly in greeting.
"The Witch of Winter," he rumbled, his voice deep and rumbling like thunder.
"Ragios," Silvia responded with a polite bow. "What brings you and your flock all the way here?"
Ragios stretched up to his full length of twenty-five meters, towering over the relatively diminutive Silvia. His ruby scales gleamed in the sun, but his shadow covered not just the Witch of Winter but also her attendant subordinates and her command tent. Silvia could sense Kelvin tensing beside her, ready to sell his life to fight the behemoth if necessary.
She would ensure that such a thing was unnecessary.
If Ragios was disappointed that he failed to intimidate the smaller demons, he didn't display it. Instead, he answered Silvia's question.
"We've heard rumors…regarding a new Demonic Emperor. Is it true that you've sworn your allegiance to him?"
"Yes, it is," Silvia replied honestly. There was no reason to hide the truth. "He bears the crest of the Demonic Emperor. He has been chosen by the gods."
Ragios snorted. "The crest alone is not enough reason for him to succeed as the next Demonic Emperor. If he wants to rule over all of us, he needs to prove his strength."
"Perhaps." Silvia sounded noncommittal. Ragios glowered at her.
"How could you swear fealty to him when he does not possess the power? Are you a fool?"
Silvia met his gaze evenly. "You have yet to meet him, and already you judge his power. You have not witnessed his achievements, yet you assume that he is weak. Who is the fool here?"
"Hmph. I heard that he's just a human. How powerful can a mere human be?" Ragios snorted dismissively. Silvia raised an eyebrow.
"A 'mere' human slew your Divine General. A 'mere' human murdered our precious Demonic Emperor, may the gods bless his soul. Also, he is the same human who killed a Divine General…the lord of vampires, Vincent Lucard. As a side note, he also drank Vincent's blood and turned into a vampire himself. If everything goes according to plan, he will become the new lord of vampires shortly."
Ragios curled his lip, revealing sword-sized fangs. "He's no dragon."
"The previous Demonic Emperor wasn't a dragon either. The dragons have not been the Demonic Emperor for several generations now." Silvia sighed. "And your best and brightest prospect, Tia, is gone. Speaking of which, shouldn't you get your territory's affairs in order first? How is your legion coping after Tia's death?"
"Well enough," Ragios replied arrogantly, flames igniting along his back spines. "I have taken over as the new leader of the Dragon Legion, and I shall be recognized as the new Divine General."
He then leered at Silvia.
"And eventually…I shall ascend to the throne and become the new Demonic Emperor."
"You sound very confident of yourself," Silvia remarked dryly.
"Of course." Ragios narrowed his eyes into reptilian slits. "You wouldn't get in the way if I challenge him for the throne, would you?"
"Oh, it depends." Silvia brushed a hand across her long, silvery hair. "If you challenge him in a one-on-one duel, then I will honor that and refrain from interfering."
Silvia was aware of how dragons chose their leaders. It was highly likely that Ragios ascended to his position as the new general of the Dragon Legion by fighting his way to the top. They would fight duels and the final victor would be crown the new king (or queen) of dragons.
Already she noticed the vicious scars in his otherwise pristine ruby hide. Injuries left not by blade or spells but huge claws and fangs. Well, admittedly there were scorches or burns left by spells – the dragons were powerful wielders of elemental magic – but given the scale of those freshly healed wounds, those spells could only be cast by a fellow dragon.
"I couldn't ask for more!" Ragios sounded delighted. "I do intend to challenge him to a duel!"
"Then there is no problem."
Silvia nodded. She recalled that the previous Demonic Emperor had accepted a similar duel from Tia and defeated her after a close battle. Satisfied that she had lost to a slightly stronger but a lot more tactically astute and magically adept opponent, Tia had bent her knee to the previous Emperor, Viledoofus.
However, Ragios was not Tia.
"On the other hand, if you renege upon your honor and attack him with your legion, then I am honor bound to lead my legion against yours." A smile touched Silvia's lips. "Also, I believe that Lindley will shortly pledge his loyalty to him…as will the vampires in Tyranvania."
Ragios studied her. "You seem very confident of his charisma."
"Having met him firsthand, I can attest to his strength of character, if nothing else." Silvia narrowed her eyes. "He might not be the most powerful or talented, but he certainly will be among the most benevolent."
"Hah!" Ragios snorted. "What use is benevolence? For someone to rule over us demons, he must possess tyrannical strength and ruthlessness! He must have the power to trample over all opposition!"
"Perhaps it is past time we stopped being so obsessed with strength and power, and start looking for ways to coexist peacefully with others." Silvia sounded weary. Ragios stared at her in surprise.
"You no longer wish for conquest?"
"No, I do not," Silvia admitted. "I'll wage war if I have to…to protect those I vowed to safeguard. My territories…the new Demonic Emperor I pledged my loyalty to. But I tire of war…of the endless fighting. Is it too much to ask for peace after millennia of violence and bloodshed?"
"It is cowardly and unbecoming of a demon," Ragios replied snidely. "I should have known that you elves are spineless. You have so much magic power at your disposal, but you choose to do nothing with it. Peace? Hah! What use is peace?"
Silvia said nothing, and Ragios looked away with a sigh. Embers ignited to life as his breath rattled nearby tents and raised the temperature.
"But I do have a semblance of honor," the new dragon king said. "This duel is between me and the new upstart seeking to claim the throne of the Demonic Emperor. I will not unleash my legion upon him. If he beats me in a duel, then my legion and I will be his to command. He can even take my life as punishment for my impertinence if he so wishes. However, if he loses…"
Ragios chuckled darkly.
"Then his life will be forfeit."
Silvia took a deep breath before she nodded.
"I understand. I will relay the message to my lord once he returns."
"Returns? From where?" Ragios snorted. "Where did he go, anyway? I came here upon learning that he is not in Tyranvania. Don't tell me he ran away from the Demonic Empire?"
"Oh, far from it." Silvia couldn't help but giggle at the dragon's presumption. "He is currently helping us take revenge for our previous Demonic Emperor. He is tracking down and defeating the members of the so-called strongest Hero party who slew his majesty Emperor Viledoofus."
Her smile widened.
"I suspect he will have some good news for us when he returns. Already, he has defeated three of the members from the strongest Hero party. One has been confirmed dead, and the other two are slowly losing their life essences to the Blood Spear of Longinus. They will be dead in a few months, if they aren't already."
"Ho…?"
"And when he returns, I expect he'll be telling us about the death of the fourth member." Silvia giggled. "While you dragons were fighting among yourselves to determine who the next leader would be, he has already taken upon the task to avenge our previous lord, his majesty Emperor Viledoofus."
"Hmph. That's more like it." Ragios clacked his claws and rose, stretching his wings as he prepared to take off. "It wouldn't be fun if this new challenger didn't possess some skills."
He flapped his wings and his titanic body rose a few meters into the air. Hovering for a few seconds, he glared at Silvia.
"Tell him that I'll be waiting for him…that I expect him to challenge me to a duel when he returns."
"You might have to wait patiently!" Silvia shouted at Ragios when he slowly ascended into the skies. "My lord is a busy man, and he still has a lot of matters to take care of."
She then grinned.
"But once he's done with disciplining the vampires, he'll probably take you up on your challenge."