[b] I apologize for the delay, I was swamped with work. Here you guys go! [/b

Ludis was panting heavily, his blood pouring from multiple faucets.

The injuries Erebus had inflicted upon him were no longer healing properly. Ludis was near Death’s door.

Erebus, on the other hand, was completely fine. In fact, no injuries were visible on his body and it was hard to believe that he was engaged in a duel that could end or save someone’s life.

He was flying leisurely in the sky before finally descending and landing next to the exhausted Ludis.

“Is that all you’re capable of?” Erebus questioned the younger dragon in a soft voice.

Ludis hacked up blood and rose shakily until he was standing (somewhat) upright. “I will not forfeit!” he cried strongly in a tone that did not match his miserable appearance.

Erebus with responded that something that resembled a smile. It was hard to tell when his was that of a dragon.

“Come at me then.”

Ludis shot a weak bolt of water magic at Erebus. It simply bounced off of his body.

He continued to attack Erebus with magic that was reflected off of the highly resistant scales of Erebus’ grand body.

Erebus didn’t fight back. He merely allowed the pitiful spectacle to continue with a blank expression.

Ludis finally collapsed, his breathing had grown even heavier. Erebus spoke quietly, “Are you done?”

Anger welled up inside of Ludis, he tried to rise again, but his tired limbs did not comply to his wishes. He fell down awkwardly, his arms and legs sprawled out as if he was a newborn deer attempting to walk.

“You tricked me,” Ludis spat after a moment of silence.

“Did I really?”

“Yes!”

Erebus blinked once. “How so?”

“You,” Ludis hacked violently, “you let me believe you were weaker than I had originally thought. You played me... is this some sort of game to you? My life, that is.”

“Yes,” Erebus answered without any hesitation.

To him, it was an amusing pastime. To some extent, he respected Ludis. But that was miniscule compared to the thought of appeasing his boredom by toying with the younger dragon.

He could have killed Ludis quickly and easily if he wanted to. Instead, Erebus opted to drag out the battle for the sake of his very own entertainment and enjoyment. It was rare he could exert that much force and his opponent wouldn’t break like a twig under a boulder.

His thought process was completely unlike Frize, who had dealt with Syron so quickly it was almost laughable.

Ludis chuckled bitterly. “In the end, I lost, huh?” He stared Erebus straight in the eye. “But what is another broken to you?”

Without any remorse, Erebus responded, “Nothing at all.”

Ludis thumped his tail weakly as it were funny. “Well, I can’t call you out for being dishonest.”

This elicited no response from Erebus.

“Come on now. Kill me. My brother’s dead. The last person who I cherished in this world is gone. What do I care about living any longer?”

The elder dragon remained silent for a few counts before pointing a talon at Ludis. “By the Dragon Law, I, Erebus of the Dragon Council, shall carry out the death sentence of Ludis, twin brother of Syron. Your life is mine for the taking as you have betrayed your brethren.”

Ludis sighed contently, a peaceful expression crossing his face when an iridescent symbol appeared on his forehead, basking his body in an even brighter glow.

The thin beam of the glowing light completely engulfed his body, it was beauty in the night sky. The light dimmed before it completely disappeared along with Ludis’ body.

The fleeting, ethereality of the moment passed.

Frize appeared next to Erebus while in his human form. “Honestly, why did you feel the need to prolong the inevitable?”

Erebus didn’t respond, there was an indescribable look of sorrow in his eyes.

“How beautiful a star is in its last moments,” he spoke in a pained voice. “How incredibly lonely and jealous do the other stars feel?”

Frize cast his gaze upwards at the twinkling stars. “It is our duty to protect this world. For eternity.”

Erebus shook his head and laughed, shifting back into his human appearance. “I know, Frize.” The previous sadness vanished from his face without any lingering trace of its existence.

Frize stared at Erebus evenly for a while, and Erebus responded with a light chuckle. “What a mess this is.”

Their surroundings were completely ruined. Buildings destroyed, multiple craters in the street and in the protective wall of Legacia.

It was currently unknown how many other lives were lost during the ferocious battle of the dragons that sent tremors throughout the very foundation of the city.

Frize, however, did not allow his gaze to stray.

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Well, let’s get going now.”

His companion sighed heavily. “I suppose you are correct,” he said with a tired nod of his head.

The two made their way back to the area where the ball attendees stood.

When they arrived, everyone dropped to their knees.

Groveling.

Even the mightiest of king’s forehead graced the earth.

“Oh my, now you all want to show proper respect?” Erebus questioned in a wry way.

“F-forgive our previous rudeness,” the King of Milon, Rupert stammered. He couldn’t help but remember the way he had referred to them earlier.

Today was a reminder. No, it was a nightmare that created the deepest and purest form inside of their weak and feeble body. It struck them all the way to the core and fused into their essence.

Nearly all of them had not been alive during the First War and the following Great Wars. They had never witnessed the true power of the dragons first hand.

But the display just now made them realize why exactly their ancestors warned against angering the dragons.

Not just the Dragon Council, but the younger dragons were also incredibly powerful.

A single, well-trained dragon could easily subdue a group of Myth class magicians.

And that was scary.

Incredibly scary.

The ones they held praised and exalted could fall so easily under the presence of a single being.

It had become somewhat of a joke, the dragons that is. To those who had never experienced the terror firsthand, they would never understand anything. And overtime, wounds faded into scars that would be difficult to remember where exactly they came from.

So the stories passed on from generation to generation became nothing more than a child’s tale.

They only showed proper respect because of what they had heard. Not what they knew, there was a difference.

“We apologize for interrupting your lovely ball, but we had urgent business to attend to,” Frize said with a smile that didn’t quite reach those frozen eyes of his.

A king with flaming red hair and dressed to the absolute max in extravagance jumped up. “Oh, it is no problem! No problem at all.”

“No, no, at least let us repay you by fixing the damage that we caused. And those who were caught in the duel... I-, I- don’t know how to express my condolences,” Frize continued. Similar to his smile, the sadness he spoke of did not reach his eyes.

They remained cold and calculating.

Anyone with half a brain could figure out that he didn’t actually care about what had happened to the others.

The dragons had always been like that. They could care less about who died because of their actions.

They were selfish, prideful creatures. They only showed camaraderie among themselves.

The dragons viewed anyone else to be below them in every way possible.

Frize and Erebus were no exceptions to this stereotype.

The king, however, was not idiotic enough to call Frize out on his obvious facade. “If you so wish to, we would be eternally grateful.”

“We will fix everything back to the way it was,” Frize said then turned to Erebus. Even though he seemed to be completely impassive, Erebus could read the members of the Dragon Council like a book he had been reading his entire life.

Erebus knew exactly what this look meant:

Frize had absolutely no idea how to fix this place!