167 Knowing your own boundaries

As for the one that was concerned by the thoughts of the red demon, she was basking in the moonlight, high in the sky. Ruining the beautiful picture of the snow reflecting the silver rays on the snowy peaks, it was a shame that no one else could also see it. Instead of directly going to meet the dragons, she felt unease after floating above this part of the mountains.

At first, she thought it was another trick from her uninvited guest, but the latter was awfully calm recently. Not even putting a fight, and Leilade knew that anything she would do against her would backfire immediately. But after a small discussion, the two agreed that it was not their doing. They were probably in the territory of the Iron Kingdom, but not deep inside it, merely a few dozens of kilometers near the frontiers between the mountains and the vast plains.

To make it even weirder, she could not see any traces of a single monster in the vicinity. Besides the apex predators that the drakes, wyverns and other members of those species were, there was still some lifeforms surviving in the snow. It was hard, obviously, but it was not void of any life. However, as much as she used her mana, she could not spot any of those small beings. Getting closer to the ground, she felt that feeling grew even more.

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Deciding she already had the time, she began to burrow into the stone, searching for the dwarves. But all she found out were empty tunnels and sealed entrances, all over the place. Spreading her senses deeper into the depths of the mountain, she managed to spot some metals still not dug up by the inhabitants of the mountains. Having a really bad feeling, she immediately ascended as soon as she noticed the silver visible on one of the walls.

Finally reaching the pure air of the outside, she wondered how could the dwarves dig in that place considering the atmosphere, before realizing the stupidity of her question. Of course, they would not be bound to the same rules as her, but at least, she had a vague idea of where to never go. She only rejoiced that since the moment she felt unease, she did not actively try to cast important spells or some that were too visible.

Not willing to stay there anymore, she still glanced at the opening of the peak that was in the vicinity. Shaped like a closed volcano, she did not approach to see if it was possible to peek inside it. Just by guessing, she could expect that there were kilometers between her and the monster sleeping in the magma, but even then his very presence was too threatening. She only felt regret that Davion was not by her side, otherwise, she would have never been this close to the Saksa, as it was far too dangerous.

Getting as high as she possibly could, she made a huge circle around it, almost leaving the kingdom of the dwarves in the process. Only after getting away did she stopped feeling it, regaining her composure. Calming her very soul, she looked at her other personality that was not as calm as she seemed. A very soft shaking of her fingers could be seen while gripping the same book she had. Maybe since the beginning, it was the first time fear could be seen from her.

Right next to her, the last mud statue standing was not looking any better. The perfectly sculpted face of Leilade showed many signs of holes, as a black liquid was leaking from it. When the two exchanged a glare at that event, the guilty party had no choice but to destroy it for good. Turning around, Leilade did not show the sneer she had on her face, thinking that it would take far more just to gain control in her stead. However, actively looking for a fight was not worth it, even if she was confident that she would not lose.

Silently drifting in the empty sky while thinking about that, she found accidentally a cavern occupied by a small group of drakes. Compared to the wyverns she fought against, they were even smaller, not dangerous at all. Approaching closely, they were still sleeping soundly, as the sounds produced by them were quite impressive. It was a wonder how they could all sleep like that, without being disturbed.

Unfortunately, the closer she approached them, the more she could see their faces showing signs of waking up. Already now, many of them had very tense expressions, like they were feeling that something evil was in the vicinity. Even if they were small compared to their relatives, it was relative. As always, if a human was here, the only word he could use would be huge. Debating whether she should kill them like that or not, the first drake opened his eyes, before roaring immediately.

"The hard way it is." Chuckling a bit, she saw the half-dozen of drake getting on their feet and looking at her warily. What they were saying did not escape her senses, as they all agreed on how bad they felt about her. To that, the small girl had nothing to answer, who would think that a dark entity coming in the middle of the night won't have evil intentions? At the same time, they were still talking, meaning one thing. They were scared, far more than they tried to show.

If a duvodiad spotted a creature threatening it, it would not stop at anything to kill it, whether it will be slowly and painfully or quick and painless. Except if the monster was so strong that it couldn't even damage, and in that case, the shapeshifting being would immediately flee. In the same idea, a dragon was supposedly the strongest being, and therefore, he or she would act like that. With arrogance, belittling inferior species. Never showing fear or stepping back, always getting the initiative as it was their right.

Even the wyverns had still talked first, as prudent as they were. But now, those small drakes did not even dare to talk to her directly, more focused on speaking amongst themselves. For some reasons, she felt compelled to release the tension she had after that close encounter with the Saksa. Raising her hand, she launched many fireballs at the drakes, their red trails illuminating the obscure cavern.

The monsters screamed and curled up, to avoid any injury on their head. However, as the volley of fire rained upon them, they noticed that as painful as it was, they did not suffer any important damages. Looking at their sturdy scales still shining with flames on them, the previous fear they had in their eyes was dispelled. They stopped being gathered in one single group, as they began to spread more evenly, to encircle their enemy.

Watching that unfold, Leilade kept throwing spells after spells, all more useless than the precedent. Winds of ice, rains of stones, rivers of water and even some lightning. All, to such a pitiful amount that even a magus of the 6th Circle could feel proud about it. But with their superior bodies, those types of magic were creating an expected result, as the scales protecting their flesh were still standing.

"Your dark soul will burn this night!"

"You should have never come here!"

"Pitiful creature seeking your own death!"

"You should have known your place, ghost!"

Hearing the drakes beginning to recover their innate arrogance,she looked around her, only to find out she had been surrounded. And while she did not care at all about many things they said, one caught her attention fully. "A dark soul you said? What do you truly know about a dark soul?"

The female drake in question was puzzled by this sudden question, as she only spoke what was in her mind. Nothing could differentiate her from the rest of the group, be it by her age or anything special. However, she was the only one that did not first live in this part of the mountain. Previously, she was located near the frontier with the undead kingdom, before having to flee to let places to three wyverns.

"That's what you are, just a soul roaming on this world. You have no body, and time will destroy you completely. In fact, that may even be why you are attacking us, just to survive. But as you saw, you are weak, nothing like you former self. And now, you will disappear!" As soon as she finished her words, the six drakes all began to breathe on Leilade, surrounding the spreading darkness with flames.

For a few seconds, nothing could be seen from the dark soul, as the flames were too strong. However, more and more drakes began to stop, starring at the monster between them. Completely unscathed by the burning fire that surrounded her seconds ago, Leilade had gathered a small spark from it, playing with it with her hands. That tiny, tiny flame, almost invisible, began to grow more and more until it reached the size of her arm.

"You are very knowledgeable, for a drake of those mountains. Unlike your companion that called be a mere ghost, by luck or skill, you called me by what I really am. A soul." One of the shadows lingering around her then proceeded to move on her arm, before reaching the flame. The two began to create a whirlpool of red and black, forming afterward a beautiful burning sphere.

"A dark soul. I won't deny that my current appearance is quite fitting for that name. A wandering human girl, completely black except her eyes and hair. Playing with darkness and surrounded by shadows." The more she talked, the more unsettled the monsters around her felt. By now, they had noticed that their enemy seemed far too calm, especially after being burned by their breaths.

"Do you wish to know how it feels?" Her acute voice pierced the mind of the female drake, as she could see that Leilade was looking at her. Blaming herself for being too smart, she did not notice that the shadows had already reached the ground. In fact, no one found it very strange, besides their very presence of course. Sensing that the one she questioned had still not answered her, Leilade began to approach the large creature.

"Do you wish to know?" As she calmly floated toward her destination, that action was considered as an attack by the others. Opening wide their mouths, streams of mana began to condense inside their maws, as numerous spells were being prepared. The only one still immobile was the drake from the East, completely frozen by the incoming soul.

Without even batting an eye, all sorts of magic crashed on her frail body, tearing it apart. Half of her head had exploded due to an explosion of fire, her arms cut down by stones, her legs skinned by numerous icicles. With horror, the drake could see the brain of Leilade that was completely exposed and was beginning to leak from her open skull. But in an instant, like a dream, all those terrible wounds were gone, only leaving the two white eyes at less than a meter away.

Like that, the two looked at each other for a few seconds, before the large monster noticed the silence surrounding them. Looking to her right, she could see a male laying on the ground, his eyes wide open. Inserted inside his very chest, a dark tentacle was silently beginning to surround his dead corpse. Beyond that body, another female drake had suffered the same fate. Looking to her left, she realized none of them survived. Except her.

"I-I ... I want to know." Almost crying, the usually proud creature felt no choice but to accept her future. Even if in her mind, she knew it would be far better to just die, the fact that her enemy was a soul changed everything. Even death could not free her completely, as she had seen the undead of Pankow conduct strange rituals.

"Perfect." Hearing this, the burning sphere began to approach dangerously the heart of the drake. With this thing closer, the latter could finally see clearly what it was. A small ball of darkness, surrounded by fire. However, it seemed that the two never directly touched each other, as there was a small space between the flames and the shadows.

Gritting her teeth, she was not strong enough to not produce any sounds when that thing touched her body. Soon after, the calm peaceful night was interrupted by the roars of pain, scaring witless every being in the vicinity. None of them was close enough to hear the laughter that was swallowed by the screams of the drake.