Ep 82. You’re Leaving? (1)


    When speaking on the topic of ‘healing,’ one would commonly think of a medical treatment involving various herbs and remedies. In the case of mages, they may even think of healing spells that take from their various elements.


    And that was exactly why Serenis was having trouble perceiving this process as ‘healing.’


    “…Child, are you certain that this is…’healing’?”


    “Well…I do suppose it’s closer to creating.”


    “…”


    “Worry not, my lord. I’ve done this time and again, it’ll be done before you know it. We can discuss our next steps afterwards.”


    The past week had been complete chaos for the deity of life.


    It wasn’t every day the Reaper showed up with another deity to wreak havoc on a human city; it also wasn’t every day that Mother Nature would appear in said city to help recover the damage that had been dealt. Under the overwhelming amount of attention she received, Aldrid had busily gone about treating those that were in conditions beyond contemporary healing – while also answering the civilians’ curiosity as to who had actually saved them. Though, that was mostly her correcting everyone that it was the dragonlord that had destroyed the meteor, not Felicis.


    And the week hadn’t been any quieter for Serenis. She was called to and from almost every city official, being thanked, investigated, and at times, revered as Partivine’s savior; though many didn’t take it too kindly that their savior was a dragon and a demonlord, such complaints were soon extinguished before the presence of a growling steel dragon that accompanied Serenis then and there.


    Truth be told, Aldrid had meant to see to Serenis first and foremost. But with so many others needing her assistance, combined with her lord’s continuous assurance that she was fine for the time being, the deity of life had no choice but to repress her urge to tend to her lord first.


    Resultantly, it’d taken an entire week until she finally found the time to call upon Serenis once again.


    And now finally within the privacy of Aldrid’s chamber – provided by the Mage Association for her stay within the city – the deity of life and her lord were finally sitting side by side on the bedside, with Aldrid committing every speck of focus into the current work at hand.


    After the deity had asked Serenis to undo the spell altering her appearance for some sort of treatment, the dragonlord now sat on the bedside as a simple human being without a single layer of magic covering herself. In the meantime, she was to sit and remain absolutely still…or at least, her right shoulder was to remain absolutely still.


    ‘Come to think of it, it’s been quite some time since I removed the spell.’


    Ever since that time when Iris had removed her glamour spell by force, Serenis’ appearance had never reverted back to being a human again; even at the expense of keeping up her spell at all times, having the appearance of her old self had been much more comfortable. But through Aldrid’s insistence on its necessity for the procedure, the dragonlord had finally undone her magic.


    However, Mother Nature’s treatment was, ironically, not very natural; it was mostly Aldrid running her hands over the dragonlord’s now-nonexistent limb, seemingly making it grow back out of thin air. Or at least, that’s what it looked like.


    When Serenis lowered her gaze, she saw neither medicine nor magic. Instead, she could see a layer of flesh gradually growing around the bones of her right forearm: Aldrid’s gentle touch, accompanied by its golden brilliance, was slowly remaking the dragonlord’s limb bit by bit.


    It was a rare moment where one could behold the divinity of life in its purest form. Albeit partial, it was a creation of life.


    But even so, Serenis couldn’t help herself from narrowing her eyes in doubt and confusion.


    There technically wasn’t anything odd about Aldrid being able to create a human arm: most life that walked the current star were the deity of life’s creation. In that sense, there was nothing odd about this process of healing.


    What did seem weird, was…


    ‘This arm, it’s somewhat…’


    Bigger.


    And thinner. Compared to what Serenis remembered having as a human boy.


    It wasn’t that Aldrid was making her arm in poor design; the deity was making it according to its left counterpart. But even so, it still seemed odd in Serenis’ eyes.


    In fact, the dragonlord felt something off about her entire body. It’d changed so much in both size and shape that she could plainly feel the differences.


    Admittedly, human children tended to grow and change at immense speeds. If the change she felt was a result of natural growth that had occurred over the past few months, then there might not have been any reason to be shocked or surprised.


    But non-human parts had also grown. That, was not from natural growth.


    …And it was garnering a lot of attention from a certain red-haired enforcer that had joined them just a while ago.


    When Iris kept stealing glances then and there, Serenis turned to face the enforcer. Their eyes locked in air as the dragonlord’s oppressive gaze met the enforcer’s.


    “If there’s something you would like to speak, then speak.”


    “Huh? Oh, I…well…”


    After a small delay, the enforcer hesitantly began to speak her thoughts.


    “…Serenis. If I remember correctly, without your glamour spell, you were…a human boy.”


    “I was.”


    “But now you’re…well…”


    Zion Parma. Enforcer Patrick Parma’s little brother.


    …Was nowhere to be found, and instead replaced with a strange-looking girl in their place. Their once bright blue hair had seemingly been bleached white. There were even two small, black horns growing out from each side of the head.


    ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if she also has a tail growing behind her there.’


    Iris asked with her face muddled in uncertainty.


    “Are you sure you undid your spell?”You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    “I did.”


    “Then why do you have horns growing on your head? And your whole body, that…voice…no matter how you look at it, you’re just a smaller version of – well, you.”


    “…It’s due to the heart.”


    “The heart? Your heart?”


    Serenis returned a brief nod to the enforcer’s questioning gaze.


    The heart she possessed wasn’t a regular human’s heart, nor was it a fragment of the original like the Twelve’s divinities. It was the dragonlord’s heart in all its former glory.


    In the passage of time, it was a given that the heart’s immense presence would gradually encroach upon the human body that housed it. To be precise, the heart was inducing a gradual change in the body to resemble its former owner.


    “The heart will gradually change this human body to my original form. Though, I do admit it’s faster than what I’d expected.”


    In fact, it wasn’t just ‘fast.’ Although Serenis hadn’t exactly tried living in other people’s bodies before, the speed at which her current body was changing was almost concerning.


    ‘I do hope this is normal. I wonder if there’s something I did to influence the pace…’


    And while Serenis lost herself in unfounded worries, Aldrid finished her work, wiping her brow with a satisfied smile.


    “It’s done! Lord Serenis, could you try moving your arm?”


    When Serenis returned her attention to her new arm, the first thing she noticed was the absence of pain. A new limb was filling the void of her right arm as if it’d always been there, bending and moving according to will.


    “…This is quite impressive. Not even Pallas could do something like this.”


    “You are a human for now, after all. I couldn’t create a dragon’s arm like this. If only I knew how, I’d…”


    “There’s no need. As I’ve said, this body will gradually change in time.”


    ‘And eventually, I may be able to reclaim my body as dragonkin.’


    Serenis let out a small snicker at the thought of reclaiming her original form in full. Not only would she no longer need a spell to keep her horns and wings in place, she could reclaim herself as dragonkin in her original, draconic state – which her current brother probably wouldn’t be too delighted about.


    And as Aldrid finished her work, Iris also let out a relieved sigh. The red-haired enforcer wore a conflicted expression as she looked towards the deity of life.


    “Um…thanks, Aldrid.”


    “You’re most welcome, Lady Felicis. Or, perhaps I should say…Lady Iris.”


    “…To be honest…when I went to you to ask for your help, I thought you’d kick me out right away.”


    “Kick you out? Why would I do that?”


    “You…don’t like me that much.”


    “Huh? Since when?”


    The two deities exchanged confused glances with each other for a minute. Finally, Iris broke the awkward silence that ensued.


    “…Don’t you?”


    “No? Why would I not like you?”


    “Well, we…aren’t exactly friends…I didn’t treat you all that well, and…I…did some things to you before…and…”


    As the list went on, Serenis curiously looked at the speaking enforcer.


    “’Some things’?”


    “Uh, that’s…”


    When Iris failed to even meet the dragonlord’s gaze, it was Aldrid who stepped in to explain, laughing as she recounted an aged tale from the past.


    “Haha. You see, my lord, Lady Felicis was quite a handful when she was little. She was always angry, always grumbling about something.”


    “…?”


    Serenis stared harder into the enforcer’s embarrassed eyes. And yet, she couldn’t even begin to picture an angry child over the deity of mana.


    “I…can’t imagine.”


    Aldrid nodded in agreement; if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes in the past, she’d also have trouble believing how the enforcer had once been.


    “I don’t know where all that energy came from in her small body. She’d kick and toss in bed, break her plates, tear her clothes…she used to curse a lot too. Though, she’d always settle down whenever Master Felicir came around.”


    When the Reaper’s name was spoken, Iris visibly flinched. Aldrid worriedly looked towards the enforcer with an apologetic gaze.


    “Oh…I’m sorry. That was careless of me.”


    “…No. Don’t apologize.”


    Her brother was dead, and he’d deserved nothing less for the lives he’d killed.


    Iris had wished for it herself. It would’ve been hypocritical of her to feel remorseful.


    “If anything, I should be the one apologizing. To both of you.”


    Both Aldrid and Serenis looked at the enforcer in confusion. But instead of meeting their gaze, Iris shut her eyes with a guilt-ridden expression.


    “I…should’ve done more to help.”


    Aldrid remained silent. This time, it was Serenis who answered.


    “If you hadn’t brought the others, I may not be alive to speak with you right now.”


    Serenis had no proper way of addressing Clyus’ spatial manipulation on her own; without Karas’ timely aid, the elf deity would’ve had no trouble splitting the dragonlord’s head from her body. She had no way of calling out the Reaper’s bluff when he threatened to kill the star, either.


    It was the enforcer before her that had made it all possible. And there was no telling what would’ve happened if Iris hadn’t done what she had.


    “So there’s no need to apologize. I’m grateful for what you did.”


    “…”


    When even Aldrid looked to her with a comforting smile, Iris’ gaze fell back to the floor.


    The star’s oppressor had died; from hereon, no one would die at the Reaper’s whim, nor would anyone have to shudder in fear of their world dying once more. It was an achievement worth celebrating.


    And It would’ve been so convenient if the deity of mana could share the victory just the same. Alas, the more she tried, the more it became apparent of what she’d done.


    ‘I killed him.’


    Without her working against her brother, Felicir would still be alive. Aldrid never would’ve been able to come to Partivine; Serenis would’ve died to Clyus; the city of Partivine would’ve been cleanly erased, and eventually built anew. Time would go on as always, and nothing would’ve changed.


    Not for the better, nor for worse.


    ‘Ha. I’m not even sure what I’m feeling right now.’


    Iris let out a hollow sigh.


    As Felicir’s little sister, perhaps she should’ve been lost in grief, mourning her brother’s death.


    As the deity of mana, perhaps she should’ve been worrying about the future of the Twelve, and what this would entail for the star.


    And as an enforcer of the Mage Association, perhaps she should’ve been celebrating the people’s survival, helping them however she could.


    She wasn’t doing any of those in earnest. She couldn’t.


    ‘…If I had talked to you from the very beginning…if I hadn’t been so scared all those years ago, would things have been different?’


    Maybe.


    Just maybe, none of this would ever have happened.


    An amused snort came forth from the enforcer as she reminisced everything that had happened over their divinities. She slowly hovered her hand over her chest.


    “Did you know, Serenis? When our divinity shards aren’t housed inside a living person, they tend to corrupt their surroundings. They eventually draw people in, and someone always ends up finding them.”


    “…I do know what you mean.”


    Vulka’s grave had frozen over due to the dragonlord’s heart. Surely, the First’s heart wouldn’t exactly be healthy for the surrounding environment, either.


    But Iris nonchalantly continued her sentence, plucking out her own divinity shard and tossing it onto the table in front of her. Following suit, the red-haired enforcer’s own glamour spell vanished in an instant, changing her back into who she’d always been.


    Felicis wore a bittersweet smile. Her eyes were ruminating on everything that’s happened since the glowing blue shard had come into their family’s possession.


    At first, her brother had tried to absorb more than one. It didn’t take long for him to find out that a human body couldn’t house more than one shard.


    Then, he’d tried to hide them in a place where no one would find. But soon, Felicir found out that no matter where he hid the shards, they corrupted their surrounding environment to an unrecognizable degree; even the most discreet location became a blatant giveaway.


    Then, he’d tried destroying them. He’d tried everything from cutting and hammering, to hitting them with a meteor or throwing them into a volcano.


    Nothing worked. No matter what he tried, the shards had been indestructible. There simply didn’t seem to be a way to monopolize divinity as he wished.


    “…To keep the divinities under control, he went out of his way to find 11 others that he could entrust the shards to. But we don’t have to do that anymore, do we?”


    “…”


    Serenis’ eyes fell to the blue fragment resting on the table.


    Before, the dragonlord had denied Felicis’ request to destroy the divinity of mana; there was no guarantee that Serenis would succeed in her quest, and she couldn’t risk losing a supportive divinity in case she’d fail. If she were to fail, then at the very least, Iris needed to remain alive – so that the deity of mana could chance upon whoever she’d meet next that could be entrusted with the same task.


    Even now, there were still 8 other divinities remaining aside from the ones Serenis had encountered. It may be premature to destroy one they could use. But…


    “I take it that you’re set on this decision.”


    When the dragonlord raised her gaze, Felicis returned a firm nod.


    Felicis was no longer human. Over the last thousand years, ‘Felicis’ had become a divine entity.


    Then, to live as a human being once more, it was only natural that she’d have to abandon who she was: name, and everything else besides.


    Serenis kept her eyes locked with the deity’s for a while longer. But no matter how hard she looked, the dragonlord couldn’t find a single hint of hesitation in their eyes.


    “…Very well.”


    Finally, Serenis took the blue fragment into her grasp. A faint light shone from the hand that held the divinity of mana.


    The light then began to intensify. Audible cracking noises filled the chamber’s interior.


    ‘The deity of mana dies today.’


    Soon, the blue fragment burst within the dragonlord’s grasp in a brilliant flash of light. When she loosened her grip, blue particles slipped out of her hand, fading away into the air.


    “Live free, Iris. From henceforth, you are no longer divinity.”