If the war currently going on outside of the territory was a glorious one opposing the dragons against the invaders, the civil war going on in the territory was much less glorious and much more somber.
After all, matter how much of a traitor those Dragons were, they were still dragons. All dragons were related. They were all family.
So none of the soldiers could really summon the moral strength necessary to fight.
…At least that was before they appeared in the lower heaven and saw what was happening.
Fire and blood.
No matter where they looked, all they could see where huge pillar of black smoke as the devilish fire incinerated everything on its path.
Unlike the 9th heaven where only Tiamat lived or the 7th heaven where the 9 children were, the 7th heaven was entirely populated by young Dragons be it hybrids or pure blood.
While dragons could reproduce more easily than the other races, it still didn't change the fact that as divine beasts, the number of children they had was overall pretty low.
And now those dragons where attacking their brothers and sisters without any remorses?
Anger.
Hate.
Disgust.
Murder intent.
In an instant, the rage of the subduing army shot through the roof.
Any ideas of holding back or begging to spare the rebels vanished from the mind of the soldiers.
They just wanted to kill the perpetrator so that those unwilling souls could find a rest.
The rebels were not numerous but they were relatively stronger than the average and they split in different directions or even heavens.
If the 7th heaven was like this, they didn't even dare to imagine how were the lower ones.
"Sister."
"I know."
Kiyohime nodded and begin to walk until she landed on an island that was scorched to the ground. Everywhere she looked, she could see the devoured corpses of her family. Those traitors were not simply content with killing their brethren. They did not even let go of their corpses.
Surely, they wished to use the cores and horns to force of chaos.
‘How disgusting.’
Once she was landed on the ground, she muttered,
It was time to hunt down those miscreants.
Kiyohime laughed. It was a laugh full of rage of sadness.
Her eyes glowed with an ominous red light.
She was different from all her siblings. Jealous she may be. Envious she may be. But she has never seen herself as inferior to anyone. Not even Blaze.
She was the queen of the Dragons.
The second in command who was just below the strongest dragon Empress and she had the power befitting of the crown she wore.
<<My name is Artemis.>>
A green light flashed from her body and begin to cover all her soldiers.
Kiyohime was different from Fafnir. As the shield, his goal was to maximize the defense of the army.
Her goal meanwhile was to optimize the offense.
Grrrrrrr
Growling sounds filled the air as the soldiers were slowly filled with bloodlust. Their bodies grew stronger, their mind sharper. They were faster and their base regeneration speed improved.
It was an overall increase of power of more than 50%. In a fight with two armies of equal power, this skill alone was sufficient to change the tide of the battle.
But this wasn’t enough,
[Blood revenge]
This was perfect one of the strongest and most dangerous anti-army and anti-personal skills.
<<May the rage of the dead gives us the strength for revenge.>>
Sanguine light moved and bathed the full army. From now, as long as they faced the culprits of this massacre, all their strength would increase by more than 25%. What made this skill dangerous was the fact that it perfectly stacked with the previous increase.
Furthermore, since Tiamat could not easily move, Kiyohime acted once again,
<<May the rage of the spirit guide us toward the culprit.>>
Many portals began to form around her. No one could flee from her. This skill would activate irrelevant of distance. The only way to block it would be for the hunting targets to enter the mortal realm or a territory belonging to a demigod.
Standing up, she paused the formation of the portal and looked at Hydra who nodded. She could have used her zone but since she intended to split the army, it would pointless. Right now, they simply needed to boost all the specs of the army and hunt down the enemies.
“I guess it’s my turn.”
Hydra stretched a little and lifted his hand. He was not as angry as Kiyohime but he definitely did not feel good.
Turning, he gave a look at Nidhogg who had obviously followed him as if telling her to watch and learn.
Fafnir, was the shield.
Welsh was the spear.
Kiyohime was the Huntress.
As for him…He was the sword.
<<My name is…Kusanagi no Tsurugi [1]>>
Like all his siblings, Hydra specialized in anti-army-type skills. His more lethal poisons were certainly dreadful and allowed him to kill a large swath of enemies with ease but he could not afford to use them in the dragon territory.
But who said that a poison master could only kill?
<<Poisonous claws>>
Under his power, all the claws or fingernails of the soldiers became purple. Hydra had never been found of complicated name and liked to go straight to the point. From now on and until the end of this skill, all the people wounded by a soldier would receive a multitude of poisons going from increased pain to hallucinogens, lethal poisons, and even drugs that clogged the mana vein.
<<Pain resistance.>>
<<Fear resistance>>
<<Reflex acceleration>>
<<Accelerated regeneration>>
<<Strengh increase>>
<<Speed increase>>
Like Kiyohime, Hydra power allowed him to send a bunch of buffs to his army and once again they all stacked with the previous effects.
This was how the dragon’s army always worked.
This was why they were considered to be nearly undefeatable if all the four generals of the army worked together at the same time.
Once Hydra finished his round of buff, Kiyohime nodded and released the control over the portal.
“Do not forget. Those we are about to face stopped being family the moment they turned their blade against us. They are dragons no more. Only fiends to be put down like the enraged beasts they are…Show no mercy.”
ROOOOAARR!!!!
What followed next could only be considered to be a one-sided massacre.
—--
Standing next to the dragon pool, Tiamat watched everything that was going on. It has already been one full day since the start of the little war and the dragons were proving to be worthy of their legend.
She could see that in the territory, the different teams Kiyohime sent were nearly done cleaning up most of the traitors. Meanwhile, Nidhogg was leading a small team of healers and helping the surviving citizens.
Once they were done, they would be able to go help Fafnir.
Thankfully, most dragons were fighters so the casualty was mainly on the side of the other citizens. Tiamat knew that this was a pretty cold way to see things but she had always been honest with her sentiment.
She was a selfish empress. Not some kind of savior with a hero complex.
War would always bring death. This was inevitable. As such, it was better for her if those death were other people than her own.
The war outside though was proving to be more difficult than she thought.
In terms of quality, the dragons were overwhelmingly superior and thanks to Fafnir shield, the losses were only in double-digit.
The problem here was that while the quality was overwhelming, they were overwhelmed by the quantity.
‘Cursed Chaos spawn.’
Tiamat always wondered what the Goddess of Chaos thought when creating those filthy creatures. They reproduced so fast and their number was so high. They were always the cause of much distress.
As if it wasn’t enough, the necromancer of Chaos' side descended with his true body. Something that was rather surprising. But still, his legion was causing chaos and while Welsh made sure to always incinerate the body of the dead, it was impossible for her to keep track of everything.
‘Should I ask Sekmeth and Nabu to act?’
Those two were a sort of trump card to catch off guard her enemy. She did not know if it was worth moving them now.
The only reason she stopped herself from doing so was her instincts. Something was going on. She could feel that this war was just at the start.
‘Well. At least she hadn’t made a move yet.’
Tiamat smiled when she looked at the phoenix that was standing quietly.
Kiyohime was one of the strongest King level being in existence but it was mainly because she specialized in wide-scale buff.
Why then, was she and Nent such a great teammates back then?
Tiamat knew very well that behind this lady-like appearance was someone very dangerous.
“Show it to me little phoenix. Let’s see how you will once again dominate the battlefield.”
—--
Standing on the battlefield, as the storm of mana surrounded her and the odor of blood filled her nose, Nent could not help but think back to the old time.
Gabriel and Asmodeus were part of first-generation divine beasts. In fact, it wouldn’t be a mistake to say that the phoenixes and the snakes were the very first divine beasts in existence.
This was why, in a way, Nent had even more experience than Tiamat herself when it came to war. In terms of age, it wouldn’t be a mistake that she was one of the oldest living beings in the universe.
War. This was all Nent ever knew.
But even as everyone died, even as the angel retreated, she survived.
Wounded, sad, alone, afraid, scared. Again and again, escaping from the jaws of death by the most minuscule of chance.
Even then, she never once gave up on hope and continued to advance, determined in her beliefs.
The titans did not scare her
The giants did not make her waver.
Even the horrors of the depth and the darkness swirling inside it, did not destroy her faith.
Her belief was ever firm.
She believed in the possibility of this world. She believed what she did was for the sake of ‘good’, and to vanquish ‘evil’. She believed that she, as well as all the others, was born for some grand goal.
She was proud of who she was. She was proud of what she was and she was even more proud of what she had achieved.
Because this was her choice.
Because this was her own decision — Her freedom.
Her heart was left unshaken but…
When the war ended.
When she looked back at the trail of cold corpses, enemies and allies alike, she had left behind her.
She couldn’t help but ask herself.
‘Was it worth it?’
One year, ten years, hundreds of years later. She still continued to ask herself that question, never finding the answer she was looking for.
Until one day — seven hundred years ago. It was then that her belief was shaken.
Now, seven hundred years later, Nent stood again on the battlefield, and facing her was once again one of the people who shook her belief all those years ago.
Right here, right now, she stood at a crossroad. Her sole decision would change everything in her life.
What should she do?
She had agonized over questions over and over again.
“If this war happened a year ago. No…Just a few months ago, then my choice would have surely been very different.”
She mocked herself but the light in her eyes became firm.
One step, two steps. Each time she advanced, her beautiful and somewhat sexy robe was replaced by the armor she once wore all those years ago.
Feeling mana course through her veins, she called forth a power she had forgotten she even wielded.
Lightning cracked.
“I am Nent, daughter of Gabriel.”
But this wasn’t all.
“I am Nent, mate of Sol Luxuria.”
But once again, this wasn’t all. Her eyes became filled with light.
“I am Nent… and <<My name is Mjolnir.>>”
The world seemed to fall silent as the might of a superior being filled the battlefield. For an instant, everything seemed to stop and the soldiers themselves all looked at the source of light that was standing alone like a shining beacon in the middle of the battlefield.
Lightning roared as the thunder queen, the ultimate valkyrie, finally woke up from her long and deep slumber.
Was it worth it?
Indeed. It was fucking worth it!
“Begone! With the roar of a thunderclap!”
The world was dyed white by lightning as she slammed her hammer down.
[1]: Pretty sure most people know the legend of Kusanagi no Tsurugi. It’s the sword the god Susanoo found in the body of Yamata no Orochi after he killed it to save a princess. The Orochi is an 8-headed serpent full of poison. The Hydra is a 9-headed serpent full of poison….so yeah, it was pretty obvious to choose this name for me.
(AN: I must say. I was laughing like mad when I was writing this chapter and listening to Bleach battle OST to make my blood boil. I really hope I was able to make your heart thump even if a little. Don't forget to leave comments please and write me on discord if you have question.)
