CHAPTER 25: BOND OF A DRAGON AND A KNIGHT

XENON WINGATE

2 ½ YEARS AGO

At the far edge and center of the wide hall is the leader of the terrorist group Arcadia; Zac Schneider. Together with him are two beautiful dragonoid women that are standing beside his self-proclaimed throne of the Dragonoid Empire. One of the dragonoid is a beautiful young-adult girl with brown hair and wears an elegant blue maid dress. The second dragonoid is a teenage girl with scarlet hair, tied with black ribbons in a dragonfly wing-like fashion, and she’s wearing a red glamorous maid dress. Their red eyes glared upon me and Alphonse, silently saying that they are ready to kill us.

“Zac fucking Schneider,” Alphonse said. “You are under arrest for committing war crimes, terrorism, and illegal sale of drugs. You have the right to remain silent, and anything your fucking mouth says can be used against you, prick.”

Zac leaned his face on his right fist and gave a smirk of the devil at us. “You Alterran dogs does not know your place. This castle is out of your jurisdiction. Haven't you heard that the dragonoids will have a separate empire from humans?”

I hate long talks before the fight, so I immediately stepped forward with my arms spread, ready to swing my twin buster swords in any angle. The two dragonoid maids readied their weapons: the scarlet-haired dragonoid with black ribbon ornament presented her glass-like photon sword, while the brown-haired dragonoid revealed his claw-shaped staff. The two maids took a step forward, ready to confront me, until…

“Senpai.” Serena blocked my way with her arms spread. Then she took the initiative to step forward towards the enemy. She glared at the terrorist duke with intimidating aura.

Duke Schneider noticed that Serena is holding a remote that is used to operate the elevator of this castle. He laughed as if he was relieved from any stress. “I never expected that a kind-hearted dragonoid of a dragon knight appeared right in front of my eyes. Since you have that remote, I presume that you took pity on the dragonoid terrorist and refused to kill them.”

“Tell me, what is the Arcadia fighting for?” Serena’s voice is full of fury. “Why are you letting the child fight in a merciless war?”

“Arcadia…” Zac Schneider frowned. “Arcadia is fighting for freedom for all the dragonoids. For centuries, dragonoids has been enslaved by humans. They use them as livestock, treat them like an animal and borrow their power as an object. Humans have been oppressive for eternity. I saw it. You saw it. Everybody saw it. The only difference between me and any other people is that I pity them. Dragonoids may not be humans, but they have emotions and souls too. That is why I stood up, not as a human duke, but the leader of the dragonoid resistance to fight for what is right.”

“But you committed war crimes. Thousands of innocent people died on your tab. And you let kids fight the war for you.” Serena is still mad.

“You seem to misunderstand, beautiful missus.” Zac smiled. “Those dragonoid kids you saw fighting the war, I didn’t force or hire them. They fought with their own volition. They never wanted to become a slave to humans. They want to be free. They are fighting for their ideals and sense of justice.”

“That’s…” Serena’s eyes are about to unleash tears. She put her hands on her aching chest.

Zac Schneider spread out his hand, pointing to Serena. “I know you understand them. You’re a dragonoid too, so you must have suffered similar pain and suffering of a slave. You know the realities of this world. You know how merciless humans can be. Come, Miss Serena Maizono. Join me and let’s create a brand new world, a world free from slavery. We will create a society where dragonoids and humans have the same standing. Your charisma towards the dragonoids and even humans will help me build a utopia for dragonoids like you. With you, the dragonoid kids will surely smile with joy.”

No. 

Zac Schneider is poisoning Serena’s mind. I know it very well that Serena is longing for freedom. I know very well that Serena has a dream of making all people in the world smile. That terrorist group must have been planning on using Serena’s celebrity influence on the media in order to raise awareness about human oppression to the dragonoids. If she joins the cause of Arcadia, I will be left alone.

Slowly, Serena made a step forward, with no intention of fighting the duke. Is she going to fight by their side?

No. No. No.

She’s leaving me. I don’t want to be alone. A dragon knight without a dragonoid is not a knight at all. Forget being a dragon knight. If Serena leaves me, everything in my world will crumble. She’s the only one who makes me sane in this world. She was all I had when my friend Eldritch betrayed me. She was all I had when my lover Marisse cheated and dumped me. She was all I had when my name and honor was dirtied. She was all I had when my friends Carlo and Alfred died. She’s everything I had. She’s the only one I had. 

If this world even takes her away from me, I would go as far as making this planet a living underworld.

“Screw you, Zac Schneider!” I bent my knees, preparing to jump and slit that duke’s throat, but then-

“Stop, Senpai.” Serena looked at me with her tearful eyes. Just a simple cry and stare from her makes my body freeze. My body completely obeys on her words.

“Serena…” I muttered her name with my shaking jaw.

“Duke Zac Schneider is right,” Serena said. “Dragonoids deserve a free world. Dragonoids deserve to smile above all else. Humans have abused them for centuries, and they need to be stopped.”

At that moment, all hope was lost in me. I dropped my buster swords, making a loud echoing noise around the wide hall. I’ve been in denial for six months that Serena and I’ve been living together. I knew that she would leave me, just like anybody else in this world. Her sweet words, her gentle promises: all of those are just things she said to comfort me.

Serena turned to the duke as she held her own chest. Her mouth opened and unleashed unbelievable words that shocked every person in this hall.

“Your ideals are completely right. But you are doing it the wrong way, Duke Schneider. Terrorism is not the way. War is never the way. Spending lives and fighting each other will only cause an endless chain of hatred between the human and dragonoid races.”

“Revolution can be attained by asperity.” The terrorist leader said. 

“You’re wrong!” Serena cried out loud. “Liberty can only be achieved by peace!”

“How can you say that, huh?” Duke Schneider is looking furious. “How can you be so certain, even though you know nothing!?”

Serena tapped her heart as she gave a determined glare to the terrorist leader. “I have lived as a human and a dragonoid. I have felt the luxurious life as a human, and I have also suffered the hellish life of a dragonoid slave. I saw their differences and knew the importance of liberty. That is why I knew you’re doing the wrong process!”

“Then what is this peaceful process you’re talking about?”

Serena held her chest, and it glowed with glowing light. Her heartbeat resonates with me as magical energy flowed towards my heart.

“It is the Vesryn Pulse,” Serena said with a relieved warm smile. “Vesryn Pulse is a bond cultivated by a dragon and a knight. It is the power of trust between a dragonoid and a human. It is an invisible chain that binds our hearts together. Dragonoids should know that they can trust humans, and humans can trust dragonoids. Senpai taught me the importance of bond we found on each other."

Serena looked at me with her caring eyes, and my heart melted immediately as soon as she continued to talk.

“Even though I’m his dragonoid slave, Senpai treated me as a precious person. He gave me a comfortable bed to sleep, even though he would end up sleeping on the floor. He gave me the rights to manage my own money on his bank account so that I can use all the money we collectively earned. He gave me freedom on the things I wanted to do, including my passion for performing on stage. He gave me comfort every night whenever I find myself crying for all the tragedies I suffered. Even though technically I’m his slave, I’ve never felt like one since my dragon knight is a great person. And I owe it to the connection we have; the Vesryn Pulse.”

“Serena…” My face brightened.

I hate to ruin the touching and awesome dialogue that Serena just made, but I have a justification for those things. It is true that I gave her my comfortable bed for the reason that I rarely use it. Most of the time, I come home drunk and just sleep on the cold floor to counter the warmth of the beer in my stomach. I gave her my bank account since her part-time celebrity job is making the most money out of us two, and it makes me feel bad if I didn’t give her the right to spend her own money. I gave her the freedom to do whatever she wants just because I don’t give a shit. Her life is her life, and I don’t mind if she regains her popularity just like back when we were in high school. I gave her comfort whenever she’s having nightmares, yes, but all I did was to give her a head pat, and she would calm down immediately for some reason. 

I once thought that all of those are worthless things, but it turns out that it’s a big deal for her.

Serena channeled magical energy from her fingerless gloves, and two short swords materialized. She pointed one of her swords towards the duke sitting on his throne as if she’s challenging him to a fight.

“Just because your ethically correct doesn’t mean that you’re morally right!” Serena shouted, pumping her own self for the incoming grand battle.