CHAPTER 233: CHAPTER 233 - THE DRAGON ARRIVES, AN OPPORTUNITY RISES

On the big expanse that is the dark vacuum of outer space, five people gathered.

"In summary, that’s the situation. If we don’t stop that dragon now, the world will be destroyed, and all our work will have been in vain."

The three angels were already familiar with the conundrum facing the goddess, but the two heroes were learning about it for the first time.

Looking at the power of the enormous being that was approaching them, they couldn’t help but shudder.

"Excuse me... but I don’t think that we can win this. That thing is way beyond our means."

Nakata was the one who mustered the courage to speak her mind. The power that was coming was simply too big. She felt completely overwhelmed by the aura of that being.

Juno’s eye twitched as she retorted.

"How could that be? The two of you have the power of that whole world channeled to you!"

She pointed to the planet behind them, and the two turned to look at it.

It was a planet, about the same size as Earth, but with a big difference. The continent that was visible at this angle was not green like when you look at Earth. It was completely barren.

Jonas immediately looked back at Juno with a complicated look on his face.

"What do you mean the power of the whole world channeled to us? That world we were protecting... is it that barren land?"

"Not exactly... the world you were protecting is just a part of a continent in that world. The dragons dominate the rest. But I’ve managed to grab their power supplies and divert them to you two."

Ever since arriving in this world, Juno relied on her subconscious ability to make people like her and to subconsciously trust her. So she never really got good at lying.

She’s the goddess of tyranny, after all, not the goddess of lying and deceiving. She’s used to people just obeying her without question and not having to lie to get her way.

Jonas squinted his eyes but didn’t say anything. Nakata had the same reaction, and then she looked at the planet again.

With the abilities she has now, she is able to sense the flow of mana, even from this far away.

She noticed it. The unnatural flow, the sense of putridness, the condensing of mana into pools.

"You are sucking this planet dry."

She looked back to the goddess.

"You are the one destroying the planet. I don’t care about environmentalism nor all that tree-hugging talk. But I care when someone is trying to use me for their own benefit."

"Use you? Girl, you were nothing. You are now a hero because I brought you here and gave you power. You have everything a person could want. You just have to lower your head and do as I say."

"Hahahahahahaha."

A thundering laugher rumbled around them, and everyone turned to the source of the sound.

Space has no air and no sound, but Nurtawalladi had created a connection so he could hear the talk of those puny apes. He also made sure that they could hear him laugh.

"It seems that I won’t even need to do anything here. You are getting abandoned by your own people. Isn’t this the apex of embarrassment for a deity?"

"What do you know, lizard? This is not your turf. You know the price for attacking the world of another deity."

"Who said that I’m attacking that world? I’m here merely to punish a little flea who dared to challenge me and then fled."

"What? You’re not here to attack the world? And who do you want to punish?"

Nakata was in shock, with her brain working overtime to process all the new information.

She didn’t even flinch about the fact that they are floating in space and talking to each other. Her brain just accepted it as ’magic’ and focused on the other things.

But even those other things were proving to be more than she could handle.

"The flea is this so-called goddess that governs over tyranny."

"A goddess... of tyranny? Why am I only hearing this now?"

This time it is Jonas who is asking. Yet the question wasn’t directed at the dragon but at Juno.

The goddess’ face became pallid. She was expecting the dragon to attack on sight, not to engage in a conversation. His voice even sounded almost friendly, as if they were talking about the results of a football match.

"Does the mighty Nurtawalladi Za Nadin Zeru’ibni Ere lower himself to the level of talking to apes now?"

"Silence, flea!"

His voice right now became hostile and with the weight of an authority she could only envy, but not match.

"I’m sorry, mighty dragon. I don’t know your name or the context of what’s happening, but I would like to ask for clarification..."

Nakata took a step forward and talked to the Dragon with the right amount of politeness and humility, which brought a satisfied grunt from his throat.

"Continue."

"Does all this mean that the goddess here wronged you in the past, and you came here just to confront her and have no interest in the rest of us or the planet below?"

The dragon was already visible to the naked eye at this point. He was still soaring through the open space but was getting closer and closer. His aura was not only visible now, but it was already giving a feeling of oppression.

"That is the truth. That woman came to my abode, where I was living a tranquil life, to challenge me. Then, she fled, tainting the tradition of Draconic challenges that is as old as time itself."

:::

PoV: Lovelace

The girls teleported directly into the cathedral in Essendia, the location of the second memory pearl.

Aurea, Lovelace, Yawarete, Yaci, Ingela, Kwarah, Ledda, and Shalia hurried and reached the entrance of the dungeon located below the temple.

Ledda was using a power she got from the Saint that allowed her to put the priests they encountered to sleep.

An undercover agent had gone to great lengths to put a wax ball inside the restricted area of the temple, just for this mission. It is, after all, a crucial mission for them.

Lovelace remembers how they woke up this morning, with Lillian’s avatar appearing in Aurea’s bedroom. The three had been sleeping together and woke up the instant they noticed someone was in the room.

"Huh? Mom? What are you doing here? It isn’t nice to barge into your daughter’s room like that."

"I’m sorry for disturbing you, but I have urgent news. The goddess’ attention will be completely focused outside for some time now. I can only guarantee a couple hours, so you must move quickly."

"The goddess... what? Move...?"

"You mean we can raid the temples to recover my other memory pearls?"

Aurea was still groggy and slow, but Lovelace picked up the meaning of the Saint’s words immediately.

"Exactly. Go quickly, and do what you need to do."

And that’s how they ended up here in the capital of Essendia, under its main temple, almost fifteen minutes after the Saint’s visit.

"It’s been so long since I last skipped breakfast... I’m not used to it anymore."

"You’ve become too complacent, Aurea. Should Yaci put you to train with the recruits of the city guard?"

"No, no, I’m good. I can do it."

Ingela’s suggestion was refuted the same instant. Everyone knew that Yaci had developed a knack for some brutal training regimes ever since she took over the city guard of Altenfeld.

They entered the dungeon and cut the chit-chat, focusing on their goal. They wanted to get in and then out as fast as possible so they could still have time to go to Castro to pick up the other pearl.

They didn’t know the reason why the goddess was focusing her attention away from the ground, but they didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity that offered itself to them.

The dungeon itself would be considered very high level for any adventurer. But, for this group, it wasn’t that hard.

They breezed through the floors without stopping to loot or rest.

Soon, they arrived at the pearl. It was a featureless room, identical to the other one, and there was a pearl floating over a pedestal.

As they had agreed before, Lovelace didn’t touch the pearl. Instead, Aurea used a bag to pick it, then stored it in her backpack.

She didn’t dare to use the storage space, because she didn’t know what would happen with the dimensional connection to where the Shadow of Lovelace is imprisoned.

Without a word, they nodded at each other, and Aurea opened a portal. The next goal was Castro’s capital. Which was a challenge with a higher risk, because it’s where the Pontifex lives.

Although De Laurens proved too powerless to stop Aurea’s conspiracy a year ago, he was still one of the main players in the world’s politics. He was not an adversary to be underestimated.