[POV: Onas Elvaris]

I huffed and puffed as my head finally poked over the snowy hill, the air so thin and frigid that it felt as though the burning flame inside me was slowly being extinguished.

“Ah… hah….” I panted as I took in the sight of the trail below me. Lorelia… Mya… please be safe.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion blew up deep within the forest, resonating throughout the entire area as birds desperately flew away toward the gray sky. Smog quickly began to fill the air as the earth shook from the many trees that collapsed from the explosion. Although there were no visible fires from the hill that I was standing on, my instincts were ushering me to move as quickly as I can.

Swiftly, I began to make my way down. Out of all the days that this would happen… why now? The one time that I’m not with my family…

But I had also known that this day would come. Ever since I left the army, I’ve always had the same nightmares again and again. The same dream that one day, we’ll be attacked the same way we were fifty years ago. 

The thought that Mya would be crying in my arms as she began fearing for her life was… devastating.

When I reached the bottom of the slope, the house came into view and I noticed Lorelia standing in front glancing around in every direction as Mya stood close beside her. Eventually, when our eyes met, Lorelia’s face lit up as she noticed me approaching.

“Honey! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Hah… I should be telling you that. Thank goodness you’re safe.” I uttered with a smile as Mya ran past Lorelia and dove into my legs with her warm embrace.

“What’s happening, Dad?”

Instinctively, I shoved Mya away and drew my bow.

*CLANG!*

As It snapped into two pieces, a hooded figure retreated backward and planted his feet firmly onto the snow in front, grasping tightly onto the sword that he attacked me with. How long was he following me for?

“Haha…” he chuckled. You sure have a fast reaction time.”

I stared at him sternly. I was prepared to kill him. “Who are you?”

“…”

Suddenly, the man leaped a great distance forward and transitioned to a sprint toward Lorelia and Mya with his sword charged at them. But, in a blink of an eye, I appeared from above, crashing down at him with my full body weight as he was forced to drop his sword into the snow.

“O-Onas…” Lorelia mumbled worryingly.

“Ugh…ha… haha… give it up, man…you won’t win against us,” the hooded man choked as I stepped on his body. “Welcome to… the new age, baby…”

Suddenly, four more hooded figures appeared from behind the trees and leaped high into the air with their weapons aimed at me. But their movements were too sluggish.

“[Dragon’s breath].” I commanded. From the tip of my mouth, an enraged flame quickly burst toward the direction of the sky with full destructive force, completely eradicating the existence of the four hooded figures. The only things that remained of them were their swords, which gently fell to the white ground.

The man that I stood atop of looked at me with his shaking, wide eyes as he gritted his teeth. “S-shit… don’t tell me… you’re Onas, aren’t you? The last D-draconic Warrior?”

“Who sent you here?.” I asked, placing more emphasis on the weight of my foot on him. He groaned in pain and let out a cough as he looked at me with a smirk.

“Hah… haha… oh, I’ll tell you who, alright. Why don’t you… take a look at those girlies over there.”

I turned around and saw Lorelia and Mya clinging to each other as a man, a tall, silver-haired warrior with sharp ears and brown skin, held his arm around the two with a dagger pointed at their throats.

“D-dad…” Mya called out, staring at the man’s dagger.

“Onas. Walk away from that man you’re standing on, and I’ll let go of these two,” he demanded.

Cautiously, I slowly stepped away from the hooded man as he wheezed and gasped for air in relief that he was able to breathe again. At the same time, the silver-haired man let go of his grip on Lorelia and Mya and withdrew his dagger. 

“Good.”

He stared deeply into my eyes as he began approaching me, taking small, tiny steps as if to emphasize the fact that he wasn’t afraid of me. “King Ausar of the Sapphire Kingdom commands us to take over the Kingdom of Amber. And you’re in the way.”

This voice… I recognize it somewhere.

“We were at peace for the past half a century,” I replied. “Why now?”

He chuckled, stopping his movement right in front of me as Lorelia and Mya stood behind him. “You guys are the ones who caused the Great Cervos War. The peace of the continent has been disrupted ever since. And now it’s time to pay for it. [Creation].”

Creation magic…? Don’t tell me…

From nothingness, a fiery katana emerged from the palm of his hand, developing into a lengthy, shiny blade. As it finished materializing, a faint yellow luminescent glowed from the katana- it was almost as if the blade contained energy from the sun itself.

“Remember this weapon, Onas? What was its name again… Sunwalker? This was the same blade that you impaled me with fifty years ago.”

 

<[True Appraisal Activated]>

<Druindar Zinvalur, [Knight of Creation]>

<M, [Human years: 90], [Elven years: 34]>

<Mana: [Medium]>

<Species: [Dark Elf]>

<Magic Type: Earth [Creation]>

<Abilities: [Creation]>

<Strengths: [Leadership], [Deception]>

 

“Druindar… I thought I’d slain you.”

He smiled at me, bringing his blade toward my neck. “I thought so too. But I guess you should’ve finished me off when you had the chance. 

He turned around and glanced at Lorelia and Mya, then back at the hooded man who tried to attack me. “If you guys don’t want to get hurt, then run away while you can.”

“G-get away from my Dad!”

Mya…

Instantly, he struck his katana at me, just barely missing my neck as I dodged backward. He followed up with a thrust, but I immediately stepped to the side and lifted my foot to slam it down on his blade.

He let out a slight chuckle and commanded, “[Creation].” 

At the same moment, his katana transformed into a spiky mace, penetrating itself into the skin of my foot as my shoe tore open.

“D-dad!” Mya cried as I leaped backward and landed on the snow, which became red from my foot’s wound.

The stinging sensation of my torn-up flesh was painful, but the adrenaline aided as a painkiller. “Druindar, please stop. You have no idea what you’re fighting for.”

“I’m fighting for my kingdom. I live to serve the king. By the end of this war, your kingdom will bow down to us.”

He took a warrior's stance, ready to charge at me again.

“You lost against me last time. Don’t take this battle, Druindar.”

He looked at me with his soft eyes. “This is all for the king.”

…

The frosty winds flew by, loosening up Druindar’s hair as his katana stared at me intensely. 

“So be it. Then let’s finish this. [Dragon’s breath].”

The flame of devastation quickly formed from my mouth and shot toward him at an undodgeable speed, melting all of the snow beneath it.

“[Creation].”

*WHOOOOOSHHHHHH*

Immediately, the fire was completely extinguished within a mere second, forming large clouds of smog all around Druindar. When the smoke cleared up, a massive shield awaited with a silver frame and a golden tint as its base.

“I’ve grown stronger since the last time we met, Draconic Warrior.”

I looked at Lorelia and tilted my head toward the house. “Take Mya and hide inside. I’ll call you back out when I’m finished.”

She nodded and began walking toward the house while maintaining her grip on Mya’s hand. As Lorelia walked up the steps and opened the door, Mya glanced back at me with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry about me, Mya. Everything will be over soon, alright?” I smiled. 

She nodded and headed inside the house with Lorelia.

“That’s a beautiful family you’ve got there. I guess you’ve decided to live a peaceful life, huh? None of that blaze of glory that you used to yearn for?”

…

“Druindar, please. I don’t want to fight you.”

He let out a chuckle and shook his head. “You said the same thing to me fifty years ago. And yet, I was nearly killed by your hands. You see those four swords lying on the ground? Those were the four soldiers that you murdered with your [Dragon’s breath]. Don’t pretend to play the hero. You want to kill me, don’t you?”

“I only kill those who get in my way.”

“Hah… so you do want to kill me.”

Suddenly, the hooded man from earlier popped out of nowhere and began charging at me with a sword. I quickly reacted by swerving to the side and punching him in the skull, forcing him to collapse onto the ground in silence.

I stared back at Druindar as my eyebrows scrunched in anger. “Answer me. Why must you blindly follow your king?” Because I’ve chosen to dedicate my life to him long ago. It’s just who I am. It’s what I was born to do. [Creation].”

As his shield transformed back into the katana that he wielded the first time, he immediately began charging toward me at full speed.

“I pity you. [Paralyzing of the Sun].”

A large ball of flame appeared above my head and shone brightly in all directions. Instantly, Druindar dropped his sword and became still, unable to move because of my spell’s effects. I walked over to him, picked up his katana, and pointed the blade at his throat. 

“This war is unnecessary.”

He coughed as I pressed the dull side of the blade against his neck. “Hah… all we seek is justice. Justice for the innocent- for the millions who’ve lost their lives because of the blizzards that your kingdom has cursed this world with.”

I shook my head. “We had nothing to do with Cervos. That creature was a god that was bestowed upon this continent by pure chance.”

“You’re in denial, Onas.”

“It’s because I know the truth.”

Druindar sighed and stared off into the distance, admiring the gentle flakes that fell on the white ground. “Y’know, a lot of things have changed since you last beat me on that day.”

Suddenly, the smell of scorched wood filled the air in its aroma. It was a heavy scent, one that wounded your lungs during each breath. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a sliver of blazing fires peaking over the trees.

“After you nearly killed me, I thought, ‘The gods must’ve left me alive for a reason, right?’ And so I took it as a challenge- as a form of encouragement and motivation to train and get stronger… to break my limits. I always found it fascinating that, while men think of limits as something they’ll never surpass, warriors think of limits as something that’s meant to be broken.”

“Get to the point.”

“I’ve risen through the ranks, Onas. I was a mere foot soldier when you bested me last war. But now I’m at the top. I finally became a commander.”

“A commander shouldn’t be weak.”

“You may have beaten me in a battle- not once, but twice- and your power level is far above mine, but is that really enough to call me ‘weak’?”

…

“You can’t judge a man based on one skill alone. A man can be strong in many different aspects. One man could be strong with the sword. Another could be with the bow. Even you, you’re strong in both of those areas. You’re even strong with your magic. But me? I’m weak when considering those talents. But… I do have one thing that I’m strong at…”

Suddenly, a dozen warriors- no, two dozen- no three- no… an increasingly large number of warriors, appeared from behind each of the frosty trees as a blazing wall of flame began to close in behind them. Some were knights, while others were archers. Some were assassins, while others were mages.

“Commander Druindar! Your wish is our command!” one of the knights declared.

“DRUINDAR! DRUINDAR! DRUINDAR!” the warriors chanted.

I glanced back at Druindar, but he was no longer there.

“You get it now, don’t you? This is my strength…” he whispered from behind my ear.

Instantly, I turned around and swung the katana… but the weapon was no longer in my possession. Druindar had taken the katana. He stood there, unfazed, and lifted his right hand into the air.

“Soldiers! We shall now slay the last Draconic Warrior and claim his kingdom! Attack!”

The shouting cries of his men became deafening as the knights began to charge at me with no remorse- their swords all enchanted with their spells. The archers and mages stayed in the backline, drawing their bows and chanting their magic while the assassins leaped high into the air with their weapons aimed toward me.

Druindar chuckled a chuckle of satisfaction. “Now, show me your true power, Onas.”