Volume 9, Chapter 15 – The Sunken Dead Land

“Are these half-dragons your followers?”

After emerging from the place where the Goddess of the World Tree slumbered, Fia witnessed a surprising sight—five half-dragons of different colors were standing in a row outside the giant banyan tree, their solemn expressions reminiscent of devout pilgrims paying homage to a divine statue.

As for Fia’s current location, she was inside the “World Tree Core”—the giant banyan itself. This tree, saturated with dense divinity, was generally identical to a real tree, but under the Angel’s manipulation, the trunk could be made transparent. Those inside could see out, while those outside saw only ancient bark covered in moss.

Regarding the Goddess of the World Tree she had just visited, Fia felt a distinct sense of having been swindled.

The “Goddess” was merely a palm-sized emerald sphere. It neither spoke nor reacted to changes in the environment. Even when Fia used [Enchanted Blade] to threaten it to its “face,” the sphere didn’t defend itself or dodge, seemingly at Fia’s mercy. According to the Angel, who was constantly wiping sweat from her brow, the Goddess sealed herself off during her slumber. Unless faced with a life-or-death crisis, the Angel could not wake her.

Had that emerald sphere not existed in a void space similar to the one used by the elf god, Fia would have absolutely believed the Angel was playing a joke on her.

Because of this, if she wanted to get the solution to the curse from the Goddess, she had only one choice: help the Angel by injecting mana into the World Tree Core to wake her up.

“Them? They are the ‘Five Dragons of the Council.’ Haven’t you seen them before? They’re quite famous in Dragonfall, with strength second only to that dragon girl, Mimiu.”

Since Fia had not only spared the Goddess and herself but also agreed to help, the Emerald Angel was in exceptionally high spirits. She followed Fia like a little lackey, pressing her palms together with a fawning smile as she explained volubly.

“Dragonfall is where dragons begin and end. From hatching and growing into adults to finding a mate, producing offspring, and eventually dying—all major events are completed in Dragonfall. But dragons are also simple-minded fools who only value strength. To prevent their own kind from slaughtering each other, they formed a place called the Council, with one representative from each of the five types of dragons.”

“That said, the Council wasn’t formed just because some dragon flapped its wings and gave a shout; it was the result of the War of the Five Dragons. Ah, the five dragons were the Red, Wind, Ice, Silver, and Black dragons—the smart Moon Dragons weren’t part of it. Back then, these five lineages fought for control of their birthplace, turning Dragonfall into a mess. Eventually, everyone was exhausted, and the old Dragon Sovereign stepped in to mediate. The Council was formed about eight hundred years ago. Since its inception, there hasn’t been a large-scale internal conflict among the dragon race, and the Dragon Sovereign’s rule began then.”

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“You still haven’t explained why they’re standing in front of the tree.”

Fia didn’t dwell on why the dragons looked like half-dragons; she had seen the Moon Dragon Radric take that form before. According to Radric, a dragon’s true form was too powerful—even scratching an itch would create a wind capable of blowing people over. Thus, when important objects were nearby, they manifested in half-dragon form.

“That’s because I captured their boss. No, wait—I sent their boss to where she wanted to go.”

“That dragon girl, Mimiu?”

“Yep.”

As if speaking of something trivial, the Angel waved her hand dismissively.

“Mimiu is the daughter of the old Dragon Sovereign, the new Dragon Sovereign who only took office a few years ago. The five dragons you see were the old King’s subordinates; when he passed, they supported his daughter as Queen. It wasn’t smooth sailing from the start—there were some bumps along the way, but that’s ancient history. I can tell you about it if you’re interested.”

“Get to the point.”

Facing the chatterbox Angel, Fia couldn’t help but suspect she was also part of the dragon race; she seemed to have that same simple-minded vibe.

Sensing Fia’s suspicious gaze, the Angel’s expression turned awkward. She slowly lowered her hands from her chest and rubbed them together nervously.

“Uh… don’t hit me when I tell you.”

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“Speak first.”

“Promise you won’t hit me first.”

“Shall I hit you until you speak?”

“Guh… You… you have no sense of chivalry at all! Are all elves like you?”

“I am very gentle with others. I’m not being ‘chivalrous’ with you because I don’t like you.”

At Fia’s blunt words, the Angel’s non-existent breath hitched. She could feel Fia’s gaze locking onto her.

I might actually get beaten up.

Swallowing timidly, the Angel carefully chose words she hoped wouldn’t make Fia angry.

“Well… seeing that the World Tree barrier was about to collapse from a lack of mana, I had no choice but to ask the dragons to find Claire for me. So, I invited that Dragon Sovereign, Mimiu, to see something interesting. She stayed here and was so captivated she forgot to leave. Now the dragons outside want me to persuade her to go home. I made a deal: if they bring Claire to me, I’ll release the Dragon Sovereign from the World Tree Core.”

“Isn’t that just kidnapping?”

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“Captivated” my foot; any three-year-old could guess the Angel had used force to trap Mimiu to lure Claire back as fuel.

Thinking this, Fia frowned. Seeing the blow coming, the Angel immediately clutched her head and cried out in a plea for mercy.

“I was forced by circumstance! If I don’t finish the task the Goddess gave me, I’m dead meat! I’m a victim too!”

“Then why didn’t you go find Claire yourself?”

“Too much work. Besides, I definitely couldn’t beat that outworlder.”

Fia thought she might have misheard, but she caught the Angel muttering something like, “It’s just a job, why risk my life?”

Is this thing really an artificial creation? How can it be this pathetic? Fia couldn’t help but wonder. If the World Tree Goddess were awake, she’d probably have a brain hemorrhage from sheer anger.

“Shouldn’t a normal familiar strive with all their might to complete their master’s task?”

“I am an Angel, not a common familiar.”

At this, the Angel puffed out her chest with pride.

She really has ‘punch me’ written all over her face.

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Though she’d make a decent enemy.

Not dwelling on the Angel’s character any further, Fia stopped mid-air and crossed her arms.

“So, where is this Mimiu now?”

“Underground. The World Tree Core grew on a volcano, and the volcano is the heart of Dragonfall. There are many cities at the foot of the mountain. Ah, there’s one thing I think you’ll want to know: while it’s a fact that Claire triggers earthquakes, not all quakes are caused by her. Dragonfall has no World Tree barrier to protect it; it is being eroded by Chaos every moment. It has reached a critical point where it could fall at any time.”

“About four months ago, a massive earthquake hit Dragonfall. That quake caused the ground at the base of the volcano to completely collapse. The city at the foot of the mountain plummeted several thousand meters. While that isn’t a fatal fall for the half-dragons living there, there’s no food or water, and they face constant harassment from Chaos appearing out of nowhere. If not for Mimiu’s plea, I would have used the World Tree Core to completely abandon that land and let it fall away.”

“Mimiu has stayed down there for months helping the injured. It’s thanks to her that the half-dragons there have survived this long. That said, she can’t hold out much longer. Once the land drops below a certain threshold, mana and elements plummet. You’ve seen land where mana is completely exhausted, right? Every living thing needs mana to survive. A mana-scarce environment doesn’t just mean nothing grows—it’s dangerous for people just to stand there. That sunken land is exactly like that. Even if the people aren’t starved to death, they’ll die from chronic mana deficiency.”

The Angel’s expression was unusually serious as she spoke; the look in her emerald eyes was heavy.

She didn’t seem to be merely selling a sob story.