Volume 9, Chapter 10 – Land of Savagery and Chaos

Unlike the southernmost tip of the World Tree Continent, which consisted of vast, undeveloped jungles, a wisp of cooking smoke appeared in Fia’s field of vision as she drew close enough to discern details in Dragonfall. Although the firelight was shrouded by dense trees, Fia sensed that living things were present.

“Claire, there are people there. Wait—do the people of Dragonfall use the human tongue or the elven tongue?”

To avoid alerting them, Fia hovered about a kilometer away from Dragonfall. This distance put them within the reach of the towering ancient tree’s canopy, and the sense of resistance Fia felt was now more pronounced, as if the very air were pushing her away from the ancient tree.

“There are all sorts of languages. I didn’t interact with many people, but Dragon Tongue is the most common.”

“I see. I’ll leave the communication to you, Claire. I’ll keep watch.”

“Understood.”

While they could have simply headed straight for Claire’s point of origin, Claire was clearly interested in this banyan-like tree that blotted out the sky, and there was no harm in investigating it first. Their primary mission was to dispel Claire’s doubts about being the cause of the Falls; as long as they didn’t stray from that goal, anything was fair game.

Without using [Cloud Moon of the Illusory Sea] to hide herself, Fia followed Claire as they openly approached the forest, soon arriving directly above Dragonfall.

What felt strange to Fia was that despite being in a lush, green sea of trees teeming with life, she couldn’t feel the refreshing aura of nature from before. On the contrary, the air here felt bleak and savage, as if she weren’t in a forest but in the desolate lands that once existed across from the Holy Tree. It was dry and deathly quiet, without a hint of the scent of green grass. This smell alone told Fia that it would be exceptionally difficult for any plant to take root in this soil.

The mana and elements here were nearly half as dense as on the World Tree Continent. Furthermore, a faint scent of blood wafted through the woods. The entire world was unnervingly silent; not even the chirping of birds or the rustle of wind through the leaves could be heard.

Only a forest fraught with danger, where one could be preyed upon at any moment, would appear this way. While making noise is a way to drive away enemies, if one isn’t certain they are stronger than their foe, a sound only serves to reveal their position to powerful predators. Once all the monsters that didn’t follow this rule were eaten, the survivors learned the lesson. The result was a silence that made one’s hair stand on end.

Approaching soundlessly was a simple task for Fia and Claire. They quickly reached the edge of a campfire, and then Fia’s ruby pupils constricted slightly.

Tending the fire was a half-dragon sitting on a fallen log. He stood over three meters tall with the head and limbs of a dragon, walking upright. His body was covered in a layer of fine, dense, bright red scales, marking him as a half-dragon of the Red Dragon lineage. Though his eyes were small, his entire being exuded a sense of ferocity and savagery, reminiscent of a violent thug looking for a fight.

As for what had caught Fia’s eye, it was another half-dragon behind the red one. This one was entirely jet-black. His hands and his black-scaled body were covered in blood as he used water magic to continuously wash a person-sized hunk of meat. Nearby, hanging from a branch, was a piece of what looked like human skin, still dripping crimson blood. From the bones discarded carelessly on the ground, Fia could tell that the deceased had been a flayed human—or at the very least, a humanoid creature.

Combined with the process of cleaning ingredients and the campfire and grill prepared by the Red Dragon, it was obvious what was about to happen: these two half-dragons had killed a humanoid being and flayed it for food.

Although she had heard from Claire that Dragonfall was utterly chaotic, Fia hadn’t expected it to reach the point where one intelligent race viewed another as food. Even the savage beastmen only resorted to cannibalism when driven to desperation during years of great disaster.

Normally, one would step out and kill both half-dragons to vent their fury. However, this was Dragonfall. To judge Dragonfall by the standards of the World Tree Continent was a form of arrogance. She didn’t yet know how grueling the survival environment here truly was. If this was a place where one could not survive without treating others as food, her condemnation would ring hollow.

Even so, a prickly sense of displeasure rose within her.

Fia shook her head, dismissing the thought of killing them. She exchanged a glance with Claire, whose brow was already furrowed, and then quietly vanished to scout the perimeter.

Claire, in her indigo gown, stepped out of the bushes and issued a warning in Dragon Tongue—a language Fia didn’t understand.

“Stop right there.”

“A human?”

“Oh~ another feast. Humans are a rare find.”

Rather than being annoyed by Claire’s intrusion, the two Fifth Rank half-dragons’ eyes lit up with greed at the sight of delicious food.

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Claire’s reaction was direct. She drew two one-handed swords—one black, one red—from the void. The two half-dragons froze as they approached, the greed in their small eyes replaced by fear, and they even took a step back.

“Mimiu’s Storm? Why is Mimiu’s weapon here? And she doesn’t have dragon horns—”

As the red half-dragon spoke, magnificent black horns extended from Claire’s silver hair. Simultaneously, a grey tail, fluffy only at the tip, emerged from behind her indigo gown. This appearance made both half-dragons’ legs tremble. Recognizing Claire’s identity, they began to retreat as she closed in. But Claire was faster. To prevent the black half-dragon in the rear from escaping, she swung the black sword through the empty air. With a soft bang , a half-meter-deep gash appeared at the black half-dragon’s feet, and the wind pressure sent him tumbling onto his backside.

“Cl… Claire? Impossible! You disappeared! How could you be here!”

“Are you hunting those who come from the World Tree Continent? This area is forbidden to any being with dragon blood. The Dragon Sovereign ordered that no dragon may hunt beings coming to Dragonfall from the World Tree Continent. You have violated the blood oath you once swore. Now, pay the price!”

“A-Aren’t you a dragon too? You’re violating the rules as well! Reporting us won’t do you any good—we’re in the same boat!”

The red half-dragon shouted harshly even as his legs shook, but it was a clear display of bluster. The way his eyes darted around showed he was desperately looking for an escape route.

Claire snorted coldly.

“I am merely close to Mimiu; that doesn’t make me a member of the dragons. Who struck the blow? Cut off your tails and hands yourselves and go to Mimiu to beg for forgiveness.”

“Boss, don’t believe her! Mimiu has been trapped under that tree for who knows how long; there’s no way she gave the twin swords to Claire. Besides, Claire vanished years ago; how could she suddenly reappear? It must be some elven trickery! Kill her! Teach the elves a lesson!”

“Ah…”

The red half-dragon “boss” suddenly realized. The fear in his eyes vanished, replaced by a humiliated rage. He picked up a crude iron bar—hardly a proper weapon—and took a combat stance.

“T-True! Claire disappeared years ago. You elves love these little tricks. Die!”

“Simple-minded. Look back at your lackey.”

“What?”

Alerted by Claire, the charging red half-dragon twisted his head back. His companion had already abandoned his gear and was fleeing into the bushes without looking back.

The red half-dragon realized something was wrong, but he was already committed. He had long heard that the silver-haired, demon-horned Claire possessed terrifying strength—that simply standing near her inspired fear—but he had never seen her with his own eyes, and he felt no threat from the Claire before him now.

He hypnotized himself into believing this was just a Dark Elf disguise. His muscles, packed with explosive power, bulged, and the scales on his skin flared out. The iron bar in his hand glowed red as it was filled with mana. Visible red sparks drifted around the clearing; it seemed a magic spell was brewing to follow his physical attack.

“HRAAAAAH!”

“Watch out above!”

Rustle—

Just as Claire raised her red sword to meet the charging half-dragon, a clear shout came from above. Several arrows, whistling through the air, shot down toward the half-dragon. Unfortunately, the arrows lacked power; they let out a series of clinks as they struck the dragon’s scales, failing to even pierce his skin.

“Dammit! Get out of the way!”

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Claire still didn’t see who had spoken, but she didn’t need to. When the red half-dragon came within three meters of her, his body abruptly turned to ice. The sparks drifting in the forest were instantly smothered by snowflakes. A series of cracking sounds as water froze into ice dropped the temperature until it was bone-chilling, and even the surrounding trunks and leaves were covered in a thick layer of frost.

Not long after, the fleeing black dragon was hurled back into the clearing by Fia. Given the extreme power gap, Fia had simply thrown a small piece of iron at twice the speed of sound, punching a hole through the dragon’s stomach.

But neither of these things was what caught their attention. The archer hiding in the treetops, whose strength was only at the Second Rank, was far more interesting. They had clearly seen Claire in danger and tried to help, despite their lack of strength.

Using a heavy mass created with [Spatial Hand] to pin down the black half-dragon, Fia looked up and asked in Ancient Elven—the same language the archer had used to warn Claire.

“We are from the World Tree Continent and mean no harm. Could you come down, please?”

“Uh…”

Fia clearly heard a hesitant voice from the treetops. She looked toward Claire to ask for her opinion, but before she could speak, there was an unusual movement in a nearby pine tree. Then, amidst panicked cries of “Aaaah!”, the dull thud of a body hitting the ground echoed.

Thump.

“Oof… ow…”

A male elf with long black hair appeared in their vision. Having taken a nasty fall, the elf—who appeared to be about a hundred years old—grimaced in pain. One hand clutched his backside while the other adjusted the green hood over his forehead, letting out pained, incoherent groans. From the quiver and crude bow scattered behind him, it was clear he was the one who had tried to help Claire.

His features were more delicate and slender than handsome. Combined with his ethnic clothing of white and green, if his hair were gold, he would perfectly match Fia’s stereotype of an elf.

I didn’t expect there to be elves in Dragonfall, and with black hair like mine.

Fia was somewhat surprised.

In traditional knowledge, black hair was a trait of Dark Elves, as opposed to the Wood Elves with various other hair colors. The elves commonly seen on the World Tree Continent were Wood Elves. As for why the Eldest Princess had black hair, Fia thought it might be a form of atavism—perhaps Wood Elves and Dark Elves belonged to the same race long ago until something happened to split them into two branches.

Fia walked over to the youth, suppressing a smile.

“Are you alright?”

The youth looked up. Upon seeing Fia’s lovely face, his delicate features instantly turned red, and he hurriedly averted his gaze.

“I-I’m fine… I’m just glad you’re both okay.”

Is he shy?

The youth’s timid behavior made Fia raise her elegant eyebrows. Between his complete inability to look her in the eye and his blushing face, this Dark Elf was either captivated by her beauty or was the type of shy boy who rarely interacted with people and turned red at the mere sight of the opposite sex.

To Fia, this was an undeniably interesting reaction. Because the Eldest Princess had such a meager frame—or perhaps because Fia’s methods of purging her enemies were so ruthless—the male elves in the Royal Castle never cast shy glances her way. This often made Fia wonder if she lacked feminine charm and whether she should find a spell to make herself grow a bit more. Even though she was only interested in beautiful girls, as a woman, she still felt a twinge of self-consciousness when outsiders didn’t praise her figure; it felt as though something was missing.

Though her vanity was satisfied, she only liked cute girls, so she kept her distance to prevent him from forming any unnecessary delusions.

Fia used [Spatial Hand] to help the youth up, trying her best to show goodwill.

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“Hello. I am an elf from the World Tree Continent; you may call me Dofilia. This is my fiancée, Claire. Thank you for your willingness to help, but I must remind you: those two half-dragons were of the Fifth Rank. The gap between you is immense. How did you dare expose your position so recklessly?”

“That…”

The youth gritted his teeth as he stood up, his gaze falling on the human skin hanging from the branch, his eyes filled with hatred.

“They killed my friend. I wanted to avenge her. Originally, I only planned to track these two to find their location and ask my tribesmen for help, but when I saw them cowering before this horned lady… tell me, just how strong are you and this lady? These half-dragons constantly raid our village, and our warriors are helpless. Even if we ask other tribes for help, they are too afraid of retaliation to act. I heard the elders say they reached the Fifth Rank; we are no match for them.”

“Seeking revenge? I see. This black dragon isn’t quite dead yet. We’ve only just arrived from the World Tree Continent and are unfamiliar with many things. If you can provide us with the information we need, I will leave these two half-dragons to your mercy. Do with them as you wish. If anyone asks who killed them, give them the name Dofilia. ‘The Witch of Calamity Flame’ works as well.”

Whether it was dragonfolk or true dragons, their revenge could not cause her any loss. But for this youth who was only at the Second Rank, things were different. From the way he hesitated when mentioning his tribe, it was clear his people couldn’t help him.

The youth’s eyes suddenly erupted with joy. He waved his arms excitedly, looking as if he had discovered a once-in-a-millennium treasure.

“Really? You’ve just arrived in Dragonfall, so you don’t know that half-dragons are precious medicinal materials. Both scales and teeth can be used in medicine. Eating the heart and liver can keep a dying person alive. At the volcano village, we could sell them for enough food to feed our tribe for a month! No, wait… if the dragonfolk tribes find out you killed their people, they will definitely retaliate! Those dragonfolk are all powerful warriors. We should keep this quiet and bury these two—better yet, burn this place to the ground to leave no scent!”

“I have no interest in that. I kill anyone who tries to kill me. I’m only doing this because we are fellow elves. If you don’t want the bodies, I’ll find someone else. Do you agree or not?”

“I… I agree!”

After a moment of hesitation, the youth answered Fia with a firm gaze.

Found a good guide.

Fia turned and flashed a smile at Claire, then used [Spatial Hand] to drag the struggling black half-dragon before the elf youth. Even though the half-dragon glared fiercely and gibbered what sounded like threats when he saw the youth approach with a bow—causing the youth to hesitate for a long time—the boy’s eyes turned sharp the moment he looked at the companion the dragons had dismembered. He drew his bow to its limit and drove an arrow straight into the black dragon’s wide-open mouth.

Presumably, he had tracked them for a long time and heard his companion’s screams with his own ears. He was panting heavily, and the scratches from branches all over his body made Fia guess that since Ancient Elven distinguishes between the pronouns for “he” and “she,” the deceased was likely the youth’s sweetheart or a childhood friend.

After Fia stored the two half-dragons and the deceased elf in her spatial magic—a miraculous feat that made the youth cry out in wonder—the boy finally drank some water and led them toward the nearest village, enthusiastically answering Fia’s questions.

Before that, Fia had asked a somewhat tone-deaf question: who was the person who died, and how could he answer her so warmly right after seeing his companion killed?

The youth’s answer was that the deceased was his fiancée. As for the enthusiasm, it was because death was a common sight in Dragonfall. Seeing a perfectly healthy person suddenly targeted by a beast or a dragon and turned into prey was something everyone grew up with.

Furthermore, obtaining food here was so difficult that if the living mourned the dead for days, they too would become the dead through starvation. They had developed the ability to move on from grief quickly. Since revenge had been taken, he considered the matter settled; all that remained was to bury her. His words made Fia feel the savagery of Dragonfall once again.

As for Fia’s other questions, the youth’s answers were very detailed.

First, the youth’s name was Ed. He was indeed from a Dark Elf tribe, specifically one called the “Mi” tribe. Including the elderly and children, they numbered about seven hundred, making them a medium-sized tribe in Dragonfall. The strongest among them was the Chieftain, though his strength was unknown. At first, Fia thought Ed was hiding something, but as she dug deeper, she realized this was due to the backwardness of Dragonfall’s civilization. They lacked the ability to manufacture precise magic items and didn’t know Modern Elven magic. Without means of observation, they naturally didn’t know what Rank their Chieftain was.

According to Ed, if one wanted to measure their mana, they had to petition a dragon who knew Dragon Magic. Dragon Magic was the highest magic system here. Arrogant dragons looked down on the ants who were fit only to be food, so the elves lived without knowing their own power levels. In terms of magic variety and civilizational development, they lagged far behind the World Tree Continent.

Second, Fia asked about the towering banyan tree. The youth said it appeared about half a year ago. A giant tree had suddenly burst forth from the volcano that served as the cultural center for Dragonfall’s inhabitants. At first, people were panicked, but they later found that the tree caused the mana throughout Dragonfall to become more abundant, and succulent fruits grew from its roots and branches. Their fear slowly faded; currently, only the dragons were displeased with the tree occupying the crater.

Elderly dragons needed to leap into the volcano to self-immolate, completing the final step of their lives. The appearance of the giant banyan tree prevented them from following the ancient ways, trampling upon their dignity.

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As for the current situation, since approaching the tree was extremely dangerous, Ed didn’t know the specifics.

Third, Fia asked if the youth felt any fear toward Claire. His answer was no, meaning that even in Dragonfall, the Divinity bestowed upon Claire was still in effect.

Finally, Fia received a piece of information that made her chuckle. As they neared the village, the youth praised Fia for being beautiful and charming, saying that if she went to the village, she would surely be the sweetheart of countless people. At first, Fia thought it was flattery, but after Claire pressed him in broken Ancient Elven, Fia finally understood: Dark Elf beauty standards were the exact opposite of Wood Elves. Wood Elves prized tall figures with full chests and hips, whereas Dark Elves prized petite frames that weren’t overly skeletal. In other words, an elf like Fia was exactly the Dark Elf “ideal.”

This left Fia feeling both disappointed and enlightened. No wonder the Dark Elves and Wood Elves were once so irreconcilable; they couldn’t even understand each other’s tastes. ¹ bruh..

Under Ed’s experienced lead, it took only an hour to cross the dense forest and arrive at a village at the foot of a mountain. Based on the fact that the architecture was stuck at thatched huts and people wore patched cloth clothes and appeared universally gaunt, living conditions were clearly meager. After all, even the Fifth Rank half-dragons from before only had crude iron bars as weapons. It was almost laughable; Fia began to feel that Dragonfall was not as formidable as its reputation suggested.

“Please wait here for a moment! I’ll go call the Chieftain and the elders right away. They’ll be thrilled to receive such distinguished guests!”

With that, the youth ignored the two half-dragon corpses for the moment and ran excitedly down the dirt path into the village.

“This place is even worse than Cold Night…”

Only after the youth left did Fia voice her thoughts. She looked at this tribe filled with thatched huts; if the World Tree Continent was at a medieval level of civilization, this place was in the ancient or classical era. She wondered if the more prosperous areas would be any better.

“The land here is even more barren than Cold Night. This is just how the common folk live. Only the powerful tribes near the volcano can lead good lives.”

“Did you live in a place like this before, Claire?”

“Somewhere a bit better than this, though the center of the volcano is blocked by that eyesore of a tree, so it probably doesn’t exist anymore.”

Claire looked toward the center of Dragonfall, a touch of melancholy in her clear green eyes.

Fia warmed Claire’s hand with her own and said encouragingly.

“We’ll just build a new one. Together.”

She’s so cute when she tries to cheer me up.

Claire couldn’t help but smile.

“Don’t we still have our home in Aurora City? We likely won’t return here anyway; there’s no need for the trouble.”

“I just thought you looked sad, Claire. We’ll stay here for a day and then go to the city at the crater. Before we go, you have to teach me Dragon Tongue.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll teach you tonight.”

Like a big sister doting on her little sister, Claire smiled and hugged Fia lightly. She rubbed her cheek against Fia’s and brushed her tail across the tip of Fia’s nose. After Fia let out an involuntary sneeze, she bit down on the tail in retaliation and gave it a lick, making up for the regret of not tasting it during her last use of [Peerless Beauty].

As for Claire jumping in shock and blushing as she sniffed her tail, scolding Fia for leaving the scent of saliva on it—well, that’s a story for later.