Chapter 485 – Just and Proper

Having confirmed that the volcano lands didn’t seem affected by the recent changes applied to Ast’s Ancestral Plane, the pair made one more round around his soul before stopping above Tia’s wooden home. The Dryad was still examining the consequences of its evolution as the so-called Tree of Life was now not just a figurative title anymore but an actual term that could describe the spiritual trunk capped with golden leaves.

Asterios wondered briefly if her physical vessel would look this way too after they found a solution for her issue. That would spark quite an uproar amongst Queen Civienne’s elves for sure. Not only would their sacred patron have returned, but it would have come back from death stronger and more divine.

They had to be careful with their next steps or else he might end up taking over another settlement under his rule, this time the size of a whole nation.

Since the duo could converse with their caramel-barked friend whenever they wished to, they chose to jump back to the outside world and continue with their current business before it had been so abruptly interrupted. Noir went first, disappearing right in front of Ast’s eyes. Asterios threw one last look at the triangular formation set by his affinities and followed suit.

※ ※ ※

His senses returning, Asterios found himself in the same position he had left the conquered nest, kneeling on the ground while grasping his chest. To his slight confusion, all he could see was darkness, but he was sure that much time couldn’t have passed while they had been gone, day turning into night. Plus, the warmth he felt against his face was rather uncharacteristic for the colder late hours.

A hint of movement that pressed his cheeks more into a springy softness from both sides brought him immediate understanding of the situation. He had experienced this feeling a number of times in the past, and those moments took place during situations he couldn’t envision his new friend in just yet. However, the gentleness of a feminine pair of breasts he was nuzzled into, regardless of the thin material preventing direct skin contact, was unmistakable from anything else.

Freezing his movements when a lethargic groan tickled his ear from rather close, Asterios did not give away the fact that, somehow, he had woken up before Noir. And that proved to be the right choice as the feisty girl realized their state just as quickly, her charms dragging over his nose just once from a deep breath before she stilled too.

Taking his complete lack of response as the absence of mental presence, she fortunately dismissed the notion of lashing out and carefully extracted herself from the protective hug she had embraced him with during his painful episode. A silent curse left the Dragon girl’s lips as she fixed her crumpled top and the rest of her attire. To Ast’s shock, she even tidied up his hair and clothes, her mindful fingers brushing all over his face and shoulders, most likely attempting to hide the evidence of her panic-driven actions brought forth by his agony.

With her concerned care finished, Asterios inhaled sharply, sensing her jolt back and assume the usual stern posture. Opening his eyes, he spotted Noir shortly ahead of him with her arms crossed, doing his best not to give himself up by gazing upon the chest that had recently been squashed into his cheeks. His partner was back to scowling at him, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Couldn’t have taken any longer?” Noir huffed, squinting at him. “Decided to take your devoted Dryad for a spin before coming back?”

Allowing himself a chuckle, he accepted her extended arm to get up. “I’m not as proficient in this stuff as you are, remember? Cut me some slack.”

The words caused her features to soften a tad as she gave him a faint nod of acknowledgment. They dusted themselves off and studied their surroundings. The first thing Asterios noticed was the trick Noir had used to keep Jellal in place in case they would have taken much longer inside his soul than expected.

She had driven the sharp spike of her greatsword into the ground, positioned the Lesser Dragon’s neck underneath it, and pushed the hilt to the very terrain too, effectively trapping the male in that tiny nook at the curved transition from the scythe part to the main blade’s body. The edge was clearly cutting into his scales, but that was nothing compared to the torment he had already experienced in her hands.

Additionally, his snout was tied shut with that unusual string, pretty much confirming that it somehow prevented or made shifting much more difficult.

“We gathered most of the resources by now,” Noir pointed out. “Do you want to leave?”

“Are we going to leave the place like this?” Asterios raised a brow at her.

“Last time I heard, you wanted to make a statement.” She shot him a feral grin. “This fits the script well.”

“You aren’t wrong.” He shook his head with a wry smile. “I guess we are done here. For now.”

Stepping closer, Noir reached out to him with her open hand. Asterios tilted his head at it, then mirrored the motion, giving her an uncertain handshake. If that was how they were going to confirm the completion of their mission, who was he to deny her that?

The spunky girl snorted at him in amusement. “No. I’m offering you the spoils I collected. Take them into your Ancestral Storage.”

“Ah. My bad.” He snickered. “Any advice regarding that? I know a bit, but I wouldn’t call that the basics even.”

Rolling her eyes in a more joking manner rather than exasperated, she reaffirmed her grip on his. “Connect the auras. Visualize our volcanoes. Create a lava stream between them. When my gate at its base opens, lift yours too. Accept the gifts and let them flow freely between us. Cut the current whenever you want, but in this case, after I give you everything.”

“Got it.” Asterios cracked his neck twice. “And the goods will just show up… in my volcano?”

“I guess we should have paid a visit to your Ancestral Lair before leaving.” Noir smirked lightly. “If you haven’t been mentored in how to organize your inner warehouse, it will be just that, usually a round platform with a throne in the middle and curtains of lava all around. Whatever you store inside your soul will end up scattered everywhere, mostly shoved into the fiery liquid. It complicates retrieval but works nonetheless. I’ll coach you in this sometime later.”

“Thanks. Appreciate this a lot.” He showed a warm smile. “Here I go, then.”

Closing his eyes to better focus on this new technique, Asterios expanded his aura and met Noir’s straight ahead. They both condensed their energy solely in their linked arms and dove into their spirituality. He raised his crimson mountain in an endless space, watching her onyx one pop up right after.

A wide river formed a path between them, and he spotted a literal portcullis on her end being raised. Glowing orbs of various colors traveled along the stream, heading towards him. Sending out a mental command, he lifted his own grated gate, and those spheres arrived at their destination. Bit by bit, all the items crossed the black-red creek, and his mind registered what they were the moment they showed up inside his volcano.

Obtaining the last package, Asterios caught Noir’s portcullis dropping down again, and she withdrew from their connection. He did the same, opening his eyes to the sight of her slipping her hand out of his hold.

“Decent for your first time. It takes some practice. The most efficient Carrier Slaves can distribute their stored equipment in the matter of a single slap against their palm.” She wrinkled her adorable nose.

“You use others… for storage?” He blinked at her in consternation.

“Well…” Noir scratched her cheek.

Asterios chuckled and waved it off. “I should have expected something like that. But, seriously, True Dragon culture is something else. It’s like the most condescending royal system of government that’s interlaced with extreme savagery at the same time.”

“If someone is capable of something, why waste it by not making use of the opportunity it provides?” She tried to defend herself with a huff.

“Oh, I’m not admonishing you. At least not completely. I just find it funny.” He raised his hands defensively. “I wonder what other roles your communities made up. Asswarmer Slaves? To keep your butt warm during cold winter afternoon naps by continuously breathing fire at your rear?”

Seeing her gaze escape to the side, he paused, not believing it in the slightest, and then exploded in barely controlled laughter. The scene his mind had crafted was now vividly playing in front of his eyes, with Noir in her True Form curled into herself amongst fluffy leather pillows and a trio of poor Maid-Dragons huffing and puffing at her posterior. She snarled at him after witnessing it through their bond and went to fetch Jellal while he brought back Keruvia.

“So, Shadow Transfer back to the colony?” Asterios wondered out loud. “Being seen with a Lesser Dragon by our side most likely won’t help the image we are building here.”

“Actually, we can still fly there.” Noir glanced at their party members. “Let’s have the female go ahead of us to make it look like we are playing with her fear of being chomped on at any time, forcing her to exhaust herself by flying continuously. As for the bastard, I have a good idea.”

And so, they took off.

Keruvia slithered through the air to the front, just as discussed. Asterios trailed behind her, close enough to act like he was thinking of nipping at her wagging tail without a warning, even making a few inaccurate bites from time to time. And then, there was Noir, carrying Jellal between her jaws like a fresh kill, his serpentine body flailing in the wind, her fangs piercing his weakened scales easily.

That definitely made a statement.

When they neared the settlement, Asterios informed his dear mentor about their return, and she directed him to the amphitheater. Arriving at the meeting point, the four found the audience filled almost to the brim, with the Nestmother and her mates waiting on the stage along with a bunch of individuals who looked like sentries. Naturally, Althea and Visenna were there too. The former had an icy smile on her elegant face while the latter’s expression was tinged with disgust.

People gasped as the two vicious True Dragons and one purple-scaled Lesser Dragon dropped in front of the colony’s leaders. The three of them shifted down to their humanoid forms. Noticing that Asterios didn’t keep any of his features out, Noir did the same, with Keruvia sporting her tail as usual.

The Dragon girl marched up to the scarlet-haired woman while dragging the groaning Jellal still in his full form behind her.

Coming face-to-face with her, the Nestmother’s eyes fell onto his likeness when his head smacked into the floor as his captor lessened the tension in the cord.

“What is the meaning of this?” she asked tensely, feeling a tad nervous even knowing that the powerful female before her was Ast’s ally.

“He behaves like a rabid animal, so he deserves to be treated as such.” Noir shrugged casually, then held the leash up to her. “This is your problem now. I don’t want to be anywhere near this maggot any longer and ever again, preferably. Otherwise, I might not be able to stop at smacking him around a few times.”

As soon as the strap passed hands, she ripped the fiber silencing muzzle from Jellal’s snout, and he began morphing back into a battered and bruised man. Perhaps he had expected to slip out of the collar, however, the enchanted band adjusted itself to the width of his neck and remained tightly attached to it.

“Interesting.” Rhufija’s eyes widened slightly. “I think I’m willing to concede your point, Lady Nightmare. It does look rather fine on him.”

A few chuckles rolled over the gathering, which seemed to be the final straw for a certain humiliated guy.

“You can’t let them treat me like that!” Jellal shot to his feet and seethed. “I’m a witness! One they are trying to silence!”

“A witness?” She raised her brows at him curiously. “Witness of what exactly?”

“Their evil ploy to get rid of me and conquer this nest from within obviously!” He spread his arms while peering into the spectators. “I warned everyone before! It’s not too late! But it might soon be! They sicced a group of True Dragons on me and my new Disciple, then heroically swept in to save us and take the credit for this gracious deed! But you haven’t seen how they abused me all the way here!”

“You pathological liar!” Keruvia suddenly pushed to the front. “I’m fucking sick of this!”

Everyone watched as the infuriated girl stomped up to him, reared back her leg, and delivered an uninhibited kick right between the man’s thighs. A high-pitched gasp escaped his throat, his eyes almost bursting out as he folded in half. The blow was accompanied by an uncomfortable hiss from the female half of the audience, and an anguished oof from its male counterpart. Even Rhufija’s mates flinched noticeably, their hands snapping to their waists.

But, that wasn’t all.

The young lass smacked her heel into the whimpering guy’s side and rolled him onto his back. Some people managed to turn their heads in time to avoid the worst when she pried his legs open and once more raised her foot. The fleshy smack that echoed through the theater when the sole of her shoe smashed right into his family jewels would haunt the facility for generations to come.

“You are the scheming fucker! You lured me away under the cover of the night! You led us into the claws of those beasts! You tried to use me as bait to escape! You aggravated them in prison for no reason! You got your pitiful ass beaten for it!” Keruvia listed off Jella’s sins, emphasizing each one with another stomp. “And it was you who told them about the nest to save your pathetic scales!”

By the time she finished with that last and the most powerful hit, a good chunk of the audience was looking positively sick or traumatized. If the residents of this floating village had thought this slightly arrogant maturing woman violent before, now she was going to become the most dangerous and cruel female in their midst.

She didn’t care, though. After chastising her offender, she directed a final glare at his green-faced visage and stormed away. Arriving in front of the leader of their settlement, she dropped to one knee and shamefully lowered her head.

“Nestmother, I have committed grave treason towards you and betrayed the community that has brought me up. Therefore, I submit myself to whatever punishment you and our brethren see fit for my current and past transgressions. I was never a becoming member of this generous society, and many can confirm that,” the violet-haired girl honestly confessed. “However, I seek your wise magnanimity just this one time, with just this one matter. Whatever happens to me, you can’t let this man go. If I have to die to ensure that his lies end here, so will I. With great pleasure and honor, I shall accompany this deceiver into the beyond.”

The silence that descended upon the learning arena was deafening. Asterios could spot a small commotion somewhere in the back caused by a group of females, most likely Keruvia’s friends, who attempted to push through and possibly dispute her inconceivable claims and request.

“Rise, child.” Nestmother Rhufija broke the tension with her composed tone. “You need not kneel as this is not your trial just yet.”

As the much younger woman followed her command, the leader opened her mouth to add something, just to be interrupted by a hoarse groan from the side.

“S-Slander…” Jellal managed out through his clenched teeth.

Keruvia snarled as she spun to dispense some more retribution, but Noir was closer, beating her to it. Materializing her frightening greatsword, she smashed it into the stage short of the guy’s neck, ready to pull back and behead him with the metallic fang currently buried into the stone foundation. She glared at him viciously, daring him to utter just one more word.

His failed disciple turned to their overseer once more. “I can testify to everything! That memory board Lord Asterios presented during his recruitment, I will use it too! He needs to be executed! Otherwise, so many others might suffer because of his actions!”

“And I shall offer my support as well.” Visenna suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder from behind. “I feel responsible for what happened to you. If I weren’t so reluctant, this could have been prevented. I’m so sorry you had to go through this because of me.”

Keruvia shook her head. “No, you didn’t do anything—”

“This is enough.” Rhufija’s voice boomed across the amphitheater, interrupting both ladies and the whispers beginning to wander between the gathered. “No one is dying today.”

A smirk snuck into Jellal’s pained face as she approached him.

“Death is too merciful of a punishment for this male’s crimes,” she added coldly.

His smile fell. “What crimes—”

“I have been collecting reports and testimonies for the last two months, amassing a solid record of this individual’s felonies and wrongdoings. My trusted agents traveled the realms and gathered spoken and written evidence from distant lands. Additionally, I have been carefully observing the recent defense-turned-rescue operation through a reliable recount of events as they took place.” The Nestmother directed a respectful incline of her head at Althea, who smiled softly. “Hereby, in today’s trial, Mentor Jellal is convicted of the following violations.”

Ignoring the affronted man, the nest’s caretaker addressed the crowd.

“Deliberate misdirection and obfuscation of intentions towards Lady Visenna. Defamation of Honorable Mentor Althea and her companions. Nefarious plotting towards the downfall of the nest’s Benevolent Benefactor. Elusion of the results from a formal agreement between the sides in front of the administration. Unauthorized poaching of a young Disciple candidate under the overseer’s protection. Conscious endangerment of said individual. Unintended endangerment of the nest and the entire region. And finally, fully voluntary disclosure of the nest’s safe location right into the enemy’s hands,” the stern woman summed up.

Turning so that she could look at both the attendees and the felon, she stood straighter, presenting herself as a figure of authority.

“Disgraced Mentor Jellal. In consideration of all the mentioned crimes and all those not disclosed, your sentence is as follows.” Rhufija stared him down unflinchingly. “You are to be visibly branded as a traitor and confined to your humanoid form until further notice. With your lineage restricted, you are to travel through the colonies you have previously visited and clear up the name of Honorable Mentor Althea, informing their overseers of your sins. Until you achieve that goal, you are not to return to Phasmantia ever again. After succeeding, you shall turn yourself in to the nearest settlement, requesting to be confined until those you have wronged gather in one place, send a representative to fetch you, and then decide your fate.”

“What? You can’t just—”

“The verdict has been delivered,” she cut him off, raising her arms towards the audience. “Does the jury find it just and proper?”

Everyone gave a shout of affirmation at the same time.

“Then, the trial is adjourned.” The judge let her arms down. “Disgraced Mentor Jellal is to be detained in the dungeons of my tower until we select the ward that’s going to accompany the criminal during his sentence. I submit a request to silence the convicted in the name of keeping further proceedings in an orderly manner.”

Before Jellal could get another word out, Noir yanked her sword out of the stage and smacked his skull with the flat side of her blade, sending an echoing gong through the arena, knocking the man out cold. Confirming the effectiveness of her blow, she dismissed her weapon.

“Now, as for you.” Lady Rhufija turned to Keruvia, who obediently came to stand before the Nestmother to await her judgment. “You have made light of my authority and fled the nest without following proper protocol. However, that decision wasn’t just your own. As a young and inexperienced Dragon, you allowed yourself to be influenced by an audacious crook. You have shown remorse and willingly surrendered to be disciplined. All that, and your input into the previous trial, has been taken into consideration.”

“I accept whatever fate awaits me, Nestmother.” The purple-scaled female bowed deeply.

“In front of your actions, you are sentenced to a year of servitude in the hands of Honorable Mentor Althea, Prospective Mentor Phatru, and their assistants. You are to aid them with their duties, whatever those might be, without the permission to assimilate any knowledge, be it theoretical or practical, that they dispense in their classes for the betterment of their Disciples,” the older woman declared. “After serving your punishment, you are to return to the nest for your further fate to be decided in light of the way you conduct yourself during that time. Do you want to raise any objections?”

Keruvia’s eyes were wide to the brim as she realized how much of a reward her punishment was at the same time.

“No, Nestmother.” She lowered her head again. “I gratefully accept your judgment.”

“Good. The second trial is therefore adjourned.” Rhufija’s expression softened a little. “You are dismissed. Now go and join your friends. They are starting to give my mates trouble, and I don’t want to kick them into detention too.”

Her head snapping to the back, Keruvia saw the three men doing their best to peacefully hold four crying women back from barging onto the stage. She felt tears trail down her cheeks and rushed towards them, jumping off the raised platform right into their arms. The male trio exhaled in relief, bearing some scratches here and there.

“You are all dismissed, too.” The Nestmother roamed her serious gaze over the attendees. “I hope today has been a reminder to some that there are slights that might not be addressed in full force, but I’m not a forgiving overseer when the issue becomes the concern of our whole community. Go.”

The ground rumbled as dozens of Lesser Dragons took off, scattering hurriedly. Only those related in some way to the main characters of the just finished events remained. Letting herself relax now that they were no longer in front of the entire colony, Rhufija spared one more glance at Keruvia’s clique and turned to Ast’s group, who held the treacherous Mentor in their custody.

She would have never imagined she would owe the safety and fairness for her people to two True Dragons. Out of which one shared their lineage with the tormentor of one of her mates. But, seldom did life turn out as it was expected to.

And the way hers had chosen to manifest its whimsical capriciousness wasn’t exactly that bad.