The dragon's harem

Chapter 686 I am No Longer A Baby, I Want Power!

”The war is over,” Merlin said, staring at the sky.

Arad sat and lifted his right claw, pulling the cube out of his stomach, holding it floating above his palm with gravity magic as he handed it to Merlin.

The cube slowly floated to Merlin, and she caught it with her gravity magic, staring at it for a second, ”Hold up!” She gasped.

”Yeah, Zephyr is inside,” Arad declared, and everyone stared at the cube in shock.

”How did she end up sealed like this?” Alcott gasped.

”Sheʼs the wind spirit, how did this happen?” Ginger stared at the cube, ”Father shouldnʼt have enough power, intellect, or magic to seal her.”

”She didnʼt have all of her magic,” Eris gasped, and Merlinʼs face paled, ”The energy she wasted trashing the first layer of hell. She told me sheʼs at around 60% of her whole magic before getting into the first layer. If she spent at least half of that and only spent a day or two recuperating after that...that means she might have gone to face Vlad with only around 40% of her magic, 50% at best,”

”30% of her power to destroy the first layer of hell? You must be joking. I bet she spent the whole 60%, at least 50%,” Alcott argued, ”That means she faced Vlad being even weaker, 20-30% at best,”

”That doesnʼt matter now,” Arad looked at them, ”I bet Vlad tricked her into using her expansion by the promise of victory, then sneaked her after her guard was down,”

”What could even make a person like her drop her guard?” Eris stared at Arad.

”The people,” Kinryuu replied. ”Zephyrus Anemoi Enlil of Mei, the kindred wind spirit. People rarely give her credit, but out of the great spirits, she is the only one who truly cares.”

Arad turned toward him, ”All that power...”

”She couldʼve ruled the land with a fist of steel like the other spirits. She couldʼve taxed everyone from humans, dragons, and plants for the act of breathing her air, but she didnʼt. She gifted her vast lands to the humans and dark elves to live in, allowed the whole world free access to her air, calmed the frequent storms and tornados, and even starved herself for decades and centuries so she wouldnʼt harm the natural order.”

”What do the other spirits tax? I never had to pay anything when lighting a fire,” Eris stared at Kinryuu.

”Fire requires fuel. You always have to sacrifice something to ignite it. It also regularly consumes the land in violent wildfires that could eat forests and cities. Donʼt you know that even cremating corpses is an offering to the great fire spirit? You were a mortician, right?” Kinryuu stared at her.

”I never heard of that,” Eris gasped.

”Elvesʼ lives are short, and humans even shorter. I donʼt expect you to know the old ways,” He sighed, ”The ground eats back the plants that grow on it, eats the corpses buried in it, and even splits apart to swallow those who donʼt appreciate it. Donʼt get me talking about the sea and the massive waves it drives to shores. Those are but a fragment of what it consumes from ships and the animals of the deep sea.”

”Are you crying?” Arad looked at Kinryuu who started tearing up.

”Our whole kingdom flies in her domain by her grace. The queenʼs magic might be lifting us up, but trespassing on another beingʼs land is a sin, and yet sheʼs letting us roam free. Itʼs unforgivable to let this slide,” He growled.

Arad could feel a cold sweat dripping across his back, an almost infinite wave of bloodlust washed over the capital as the metallic dragons camouflaging around the area and in the air shifted back. Thousands of wyrms and greatwyrms were glaring toward the cube, enraged.

”Itʼs unforgivable! We wonʼt stand for this, and each passing second is a disgrace.” He lifted his arm, ”Donʼt you think so? Steel fortress?”

The night sky disappeared from above them alongside the moon and a pitch-black darkness swallowed the world, only the faint ember light from the torches spread across the capital remained.

Several spotlights shined from the sky, pointing to where Arad and the rest stood with the cube. A massive chunk of steel and cannons emerged in the sky, covering almost a quarter of the whole continent.

”One cannon is as big as the capital itself?!” Eris gasped.

”Is this how it looks from below?” Merlin looked up, sweating, ”I only saw it once from above,”

”You did?” Eris stared at her.