(Velgrynd POV)
"Come on, brother! It's just a little bit further, I think!" Lucia called out to us.
"Miss Velgrynd, are you ready?" Rudra called out to me as we approached the final door to the castle's dungeon.
"Of course I am. Let's get it over with." I complained as I kicked open the magisteel door. It was magically enhanced with various different seals and barriers, but to the physical power of a True Dragon condensed into human form like me, it was no different than tissue paper.
Dust filled the room, but thanks to the three of us having [Magic Sense], it didn't obstruct our view. It was a wide open space thick with extremely condensed amounts of miasma. All of the metal in the room had been converted into pure magisteel from the sheer density of the magic power that was present here. In the center of the room were several dozen cages, each holding a now deceased monster of some kind that I assumed was spawned from this very same creature that soaked this room with its aura. At the dead center of the cavernous dungeon, was a large metallic structure that looked almost like a coffin.
I gazed at it for a moment, noticing that the metal making it up was a special kind of material known as Dragotite. As far as I know, only us True Dragons can create it by exposing metal t our intense auras. When big brother said this place held an amount of magic power equivalent to a True Dragon, I thought he was being a bit facetious with his description, but from what I'm seeing and the feeling of the aura, it's not exactly an inaccurate description.
"Lucia!" Rudra called as he turned to her to help support the girl.
She looked a bit dazed by the magicules' density. I raised an eyebrow at her reaction. She was definitely strong for a human and other than her brother and Alaster, I think she may have even been the strongest normal human I know, but even still. No being below the level of a Demon Lord would be able to withstand this aura.
I then glanced at Rudra. Despite the previous fact, the fact he was seemingly unharmed was amusing. I almost didn't even notice the small smile that started to creep up my face, however, I did notice it and quickly returned to my normal expression.
'What was that about? Why did I feel happy when Rudra was unaffected?' I thought before turning back to the girl Lucia.
"Are you alright? If you need to, I can send you back." I commented.
"N-no, it's fine! I'll be fine... I was just caught off guard by it is all." Lucia said, struggling to regain her bearing.
"Alright then. Let's destroy this thing before it causes any more issues." I said and turned to the coffin. "{|Cardinal Acce-|}" I was stopped mid-chant by a blinding light which spread throughout the castle in an instant.
"This is-!" I called out in surprise.
It was a similar feeling to what my brother's power was felt like. 'Oh, it's Alaster!' I sighed in relief remembering that he was now the owner of [Metatron], not my big brother.
After a few seconds past, the light faded and the area was completely clean of the miasma from before. All that remained was the coffin which was still leaking some small but intense amount of aura. I raised my eyebrow at that, noticing that whatever was inside somehow survived the purging light of an Ultimate Skill's full power, which was highly impressive.
"What was that?" Rudra asked me.
"That was Alaster. It seems he got tired of fighting fair and eliminated all of his opposition. If I had to guess, it was probably my sister getting tired to guarding everyone." I commented.
"Wow! Master Alaster is so strong!" Lucia called out in wonder.
"Alaster huh? That's the guy I've gotta surpass if I want to accomplish my dream." Rudra muttered to himself.
I was curious about what that dream was, but before I could ask about it, we all heard a loud thud, along with the rending of metal. We all stared at the coffin again, this time in apprehension, as whatever was inside had easily dented the metal with one strike. The lid looked like it was at its breaking point after one sho with gaps in the places where the lid as bolted to the floor.
A deep black fog began to pour out of those crevices. It radiated an indescribable aura of malice and destruction that put me instantly into a fight or flight mode. I wanted to roar at it, however in my human form, I simply moved back my arms and puffed out my chest while baring my fangs.
"Miss Velgrynd, is that..." Lucia asked almost meekly. It was clear she was in over her head and she knew it.
"Sister lets-" Rudra's order was interrupted before he could give it by the shell of the coffin being set flying into the ceiling several meters above it and a loud roar that shook the castle. A vile dragon-like head slowly rose from the pit below. Its dark black scales and deep bubbling gruntle were unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It looked a lot like Veldora but with dark red eyes and golden iris'. Its scales glowed a deep red color as it slowly lifted its gigantic body from below the earth. Black Teeth glistened a glossy glow as acidic slime dripped from it's maw.
My eyes transformed from their humanoid iris' into their more serpentine form appearance with two slits. All the hair on my body stood on end as I felt the urge to transform into my true form, but was stopped when a hand trapped my arm and began to drag me away.
I was too dazed to process it for the first few moments, but it appears that Rudra was the one to grab me by the arm and drag me away. As the three of us fled, the castle roof above us began to fall apart. Large stones fell in the hallways and dust filled the rapidly collapsing structure. I noticed that Lucia had summoned an Earth Golem at some point which was stopping any rocks or dust from blocking our way as we ran towards one of the outer walls of the castle.
I briefly sped up and ran ahead to the two humans before diving forward and transforming into my Dragon state, busting through the wall and floating above the sheer cliff-face the castle was built upon. I waited for Rudra and Lucia to jump onto my back before I flew up and away from the crumbling ruin. After gaining some altitude, we all looked back in amazement at the spectacle.
I noticed that my sister was also in her Dragon form with Alaster, Ramiris, and many other elves floating in a bubble of magic power that Velzard was holding. It appears that the white-haired elf woman was projecting the bubble to help aid the other's escape. Alaster and Velzard looked at me and gave a somber nod in acknowledgment of the seriousness of the situation.
It was then that Alaster took charge. "Alright, everyone! I don't know what that monster is but look at the miasma its generating!" He said pointing to the waves of black smoke that began to roll down the castle's elevated foundation and towards the town city below. Dust covered the monster below us but we all noticed it moving about, probably dazed after digging itself out of the castle it collapsed onto itself.
"However, if we don't stop it now then everyone below will either die or be transformed into some kind of Majin if we are lucky or Monster if we aren't! We can't let that happen!
Sylvia, Sarion, Lilith, and Evelyn. You all take everyone to the town and begin evacuating people. Rudra and Lucia, you two take out any monsters that spawn from the creature and protect the residents from them. Velgrynd create a barrier to keep any collateral damage from spilling out. If anything makes it through it, turn it back or to ash. Velzard and I will deal with whatever that thing is."
Everyone understood their places and nodded in agreement. It was clear that only Alaster, myself, and big sis would be able to even approach the monster, let alone damage it, so everyone else was on crowd control and damage reduction.
"I don't like having to take orders from other people but I can't argue with him about it. How frustrating." Rudra mumbled as I flew the two of them down to the median waypoint between the castle and the town, halfway down the mountainside.
Rudra and Lucia jumped off before I began to ascend into the sky. I was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of danger and activated all of my guards and defences just in time for a beam of unstable-looking violet energy with dark red lightning surrounding it to erupt from the dust of the castle. The energy wave raced towards me at a speed even I would find hard to dodge and despite my best effort, my left wing was struck by the blast, clipping it and sending me spiraling to the ground below me with a roar of pain.
*BOOM!!!*
I hit the ground and was slightly dazed by the situation. I rolled over in a huff and glared at the full body of the blackened evil dragon as it rose as if to take its place as the supreme being above all of us below it.
It opened its mouth to blast me once again but was instantly struck by a powerful strike coming from above it which sent the hulking creature tumbling to the floor. The brief flash of white light that preceded the blow notified me that it was Alaster declaring the start of the battle.
"Grynd!" I heard a worried voice shout out and rush to my side.
It was the hapless teenager named Rudra. His handsome face was contorted into a look of worry and his Red Eyes seemed to pierce through me. I reverted to my human form as he arrived, still sitting in the crater of my impact. He didn't slow down and as he got closer. My heartbeat seemed to pick up as I saw him crest the hill. The overcast sky briefly broke and a ray of light illuminated his position as he arrived in front of me.
"Are you ok, Grynd?" He asked, extending his hand towards me.
'Doki Doki!' I thought as I shyly reached for his hand. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." I hesitantly squeaked out.
He looked relieved when I said that and helped me to get to my feet. "Unforgivable! To think it would hurt you like that!" Rudra growled.
He unsheathed his sword before turning to the steep hill leading up the battleground where Ice and Light clashed against Darkness and Death. After looking me over one last time, he reluctantly let go of my hand and began to start walking up the hill towards where the combat was located.
"W-wait! Where are you going?" I asked him.
"I know I'm not strong enough to fight alongside them yet, but if I don't at least get one hit in, then I will never be satisfied! So swears Rudra Nasca, crown prince of the Nasca Kingdom and the Man who will one day rule this world!"
'Kyaa~! He's so cool!' I screamed in my mind.
"Brother, what about keeping all the monsters that spawn away from the town?" Lucia mentioned. I didn't even notice when she arrived.
"It's fine. I'll leave that to you and Grynd. You can handle it, right?" He said as he commanded me.
"Y-yesh!" I responded immediately.
Rudra smirked before he said "I love you" and ran up the hill to slay that mean monster.
"Ha~ I love you too~" I responded, not noticing Lucia's weirded-out look.
.~.~.~.
Lore Bit: A few things before we get started on the big stuff. Rudra was saying 'I love you' to Lucia but I gave Velgrynd 'Boa Vision" so she thought it was directed at her.
"Boa Vision" is what I call the state that Boa Hancock goes into whenever she is with Luffy in One Piece, where everything he says can be interpreted as some kind of compliment/ marriage proposal to her, and how she ignores the rest of the world around her while she is with him. For example, when she noticed Rudra running after her, she didn't see it at the time, but Lucia was right next to her brother.
I thought it'd be funny if Velgrynd was actually super easy and fell in love almost immediately. It's not like she wasn't interested in Rudra at all before he came to her after the fall, it's just that she didn't realize her feelings were a crush at the time and bloomed into full-blown love when he ran to her aid.
The reason the cloudy sky parted at just the right moment was because of Rudra's unique skill [Chosen One]. It was also the reason why Velgrynd was hit AFTER dropping him and his sister off, as they would have been crushed under her if she fell with them onboard. She also fell far enough away to not hurt him, but also be close enough that he could run up to her in time for the clouds to part at the exact moment for the 'knight in shining armor' effect.