Chapter 508: Dragon Hunt.

Chapter 508: Dragon Hunt.

Fiery missiles—from spells and draconic abilities alike—came shooting at us from every direction as the lazing fire dragons sprung into action at their ruler’s commands. Fehrkatruk and his two rank A friends from our meeting in Iceskale shot the missiles down with the wyverns’ help, while Vifi targeted anything they didn’t hit in time with her crossbow.

[Hydra] was once again used to tether my party to me, allowing them to fully focus on defending us from the attacks while we fled. Fehrkatruk and his two buddies, unfortunately, were a bit too humongous for me to forcibly drag along, considering our clear size difference, so they had to make do on their own. Although his lava dragon friend was lumbering along, all of us were managing to flee at a reasonable pace.

Honestly, I was just happy they even came to help me out in the first place, especially against their own nest’s ruler. This could be considered a kind of betrayal, even if it was to help their princess. After all, Fehrkatruk’s father was a direct retainer to Maustoovaka; this would be similar to Tasianna betraying me for Mom, or maybe one of my siblings.

It would not look well after this event was over.

Regardless, we could worry about that later after we got away from my pursuers.

Gotta help out. Let’s see—

‘[Quartz Regen]! Large, hard, white corrosive obsidian will block their flying directions. Bash through them head first? Well, have fun getting acid on your face!’

Correct, choice, Hikari! [Sun, Consume All] fills the same large-scale AoE niche, but its projectiles are pure holy-fire element type. The dragons will be able to tank through them, but not when the spell contains [Corrosive Fire]!

Teaching Hikari basic combat tricks sure was fun, hehe.

Doing exactly as she suggested, two magic circles, one white and the other brown, appeared on the ceiling, materializing white clouds that covered up the red-brown lavacicles. As it grew in size, Hikari took direct control of the spell while leaving me to fly, fully utilizing our “parallel mind”-like strategy I used to use before losing [Parallel Thoughts].

Unfortunately, none of the dragons were incompetent enough to get hit by the quartz, making the hail nothing more than a flying hindrance until Hikari manually detonated them as the dragons tried to swerve around them. A wave of purple flames shot out, searing the dragons as the acidic fire began eating through their [Draconic Barrier] and scales.

Subject to [Hellblade Dragon]’s [Inferno Coating], even if the dragons had their own version of [Pyrokinesis] or lava manipulation, the flames were inextinguishable unless I allowed it; that said, however, they would still be able to use [Pyrokinesis] to manipulate the flames off their bodies. Thankfully, Hikari could counter their defensive measures with [Volcanic Blaze], directing the flames to corrode their wings’ webbings.

Once they couldn’t fly, Hikari just killed the flames to not cause too much damage to them. I was just happy that they couldn’t fly after us.

At the end of the day, these dragonkin were still my subjects, per se. I was a princess of Kargryx. Not to mention, killing them here would probably only cause more friction between Inferno Nest and Frozen Nest, and might make my relationship with Kahalmeet a bit more awkward, even if he knew what happened today. These people were his supporters, after all.

Still not too sure about Kahalameet’s personality. Rather not risk it for when I have to stop him from fighting Wendriosa. This was a pacifist-driven decision, unlike how I usually acted against foes, as these dragonkin weren’t my enemies. Maybe the Dragon Ruler of Fire, Maustoovaka, should be considered one after all of that, though ...

[“I’m diving! Watch your heads!”] I announced before I swerved my body, flying through the large hole caused by the dragon ruler battle. Once in the lower magma chamber, Fehrkatruk told me to go even deeper, pointing at a tunnel that would lead me to the Dragon Ruler of Volcanoes’s habitat.

[“The next magma chamber is the one where we have to go! It’ll become even warmer, so take care of the three none-fires here,”] he announced.

[“Don’t worry about us, my lady!”] Beth shouted. [“I think I am getting a hang of dispersing the heat through my scales. Just don’t expect us to actually take a direct hit from their fire.”]

[“We can take care of them, so only focus on your survival, Princess Hestia!”] the fire wyvern added. [“Treat us as your shield!”]

[“Ha, and how in the hell am I supposed to give you a name if you think like that?”] I chided him. [“No! I do not care if you are a true dragonkin, lesser, a humanoid, or even a monster; once you are part of this party, you will not sacrifice yourself like an idiot. We work together to achieve our survival, and I will not have your death on my conscience, do you hear me?”]

[“Wh-what? Your highness, our life has less meaning—”] the fire wyvern was about to rebuke me, only for Shay to slam him with his wings.

[“Our orders have been given!”] Shay shouted. [“We will protect Her Highness and survi—”]

“Kruaaaaagh!”

Just as we managed to get into the lower chamber, the ceiling broke apart, showering stones and magma on us. A dragon’s roar burst through, blasting me off-track, and forcing me to stabilize ourselves with a stronger rocket boost. This little distraction allowed the dragons above to catch up to us, including a few wyverns to keep an eye on me like drones, roaring out my location to their dragon masters.

The chase continued with constant fire balls and other elemental shenanigans, forcing me to zigzag around, expending a bit too much of my scale-dust in the process. Sadly, there was nothing I could do to prevent it, as our pursuer’s numbers were increasing the longer this took, not to mention, the quality of their numbers too. The rank As were finally here.

“Krafili!” Multiple dragons shouting as they burst in laughter, sounding like they were enjoying this rabbit hunt. Sending a bunch of adults to harass a three-year-old? Come on, feel some shame!

The sky was completely blanketed by the crowd of fire dragons, while the drakes and webbingless dragons were attacking us through the ceiling, shooting out spells and flame breaths. The onslaught was so chaotic, and the latter were destroying their footing by the minute, causing the ceiling to crumble down from the cheese-hole design they left it in.

The drakes and flightless dragons fell down from the ceiling like lemmings, crashing onto the ground below. Some barely took any damage and continued their attack as if nothing had happened, while others were using their fall as a weapon.

[“Why are so many trying to capture their princess?!”] Shay blurted out in horror.

[“Less talking, more shooting, wyvern!”] Fehrkatruk ordered. [“The situation is a bit more complicated than it should be, and I recommend you treat to it as such and fly faster!”]

I’m the one carrying them. Maybe you should fly faster ... I kept that particular bit to myself, of course.

[“That goes to you as well, Ollianus!”] Fehrkatruk addressed the lava dragon. [“Beat those wings faster! You’re slo—”]

[“Move!”] the lava dragon shouted before he spewed magma at two falling drakes, pushing them away, preventing them from landing on our group.

Sadly, this action left him wide open, letting multiple flying dragons catch up to him and bite him by his hind legs and wings, causing him to topple from the sky. However, before he could fully crashland, a red lightning bolt shot through the sky, severing the teeth of one of his abductors. Multiple smaller bolts streaked through the air, bombarding the three dragons hanging onto Ollianus. Unlike the first lightning, these latter ones didn’t do any serious damage outside of being stuck in the dragons’ scales, but this distraction stalled the kidnapping long enough for the other two rank As on our side to help their friend, freeing him from their clutches.

[“Thank you, demonkin!”] Ollianus said as he caught up.

[“Easy enough!”] Vifi shouted with gusto, smirking as she tapped her crossbow on her shoulder. [“You guys are so much bigger than Donut and Horn Princess, it makes me feel like I’m back at target practice, ha!”]

[“...”]

Maybe Vifi saying that reminded them of how she tore through the wings of those rank A ice dragons we had to stop on Frozen Nest. The silence and grimaces Fehrkatruk and his friends were showing Vifi would almost be comical if we weren’t under fire a moment later.

I just came here for some fire rocks, and this is what I am getting? Dammit! Hikari, activate everything!

‘Then say the words!’

“Kriffiek kllk gaaung!”

[Battle Frenzy (Minor)] [Various Spell Buffs] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

Turn up the heat, I’m blasting away, now! Purple Flash! Symphonie des Feuergottes!

[Sanctified Blaze] [Music Resonation (Major)] [Shield of [The Light]] [Stage Fever (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

“In the midst of the desert ♫

A bright ray of light shines ♫

Pure and brave, that she was, as she walked ♫”

Hikari, set up a Warp Point on the ceiling, now! I shouted my order as [The Heir of Hope] began playing with [Aerokinesis], increasing my stats by 10%.

[Symphonie des Feuergottes Movement (Allegro)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

A waterfall of fire enveloped the entire area around us before I activated [Flash Fire], targeting a magma lake next to our escape tunnel. This did leave Fehrkatruk and his buddies behind, but that was where [Warp Point: Exit] was for.

Our party was knocked towards the ground, leaving us staring up at the dust, only for a giant dragon head to peek right out of it!

“Krafili!”

Oh shit! I jerked in fright!

[“S rank! That’s Lord Rathanaktra; one of Lord Maustoovaka’s direct retainer!”] Fehrkatruk announced, causing my heart to drop.

We can’t fight a damn S rank, come on! Give me a b—

However, before my dread fully claimed me, the titanic dragon suddenly blew out of the ceiling, crash landing into the magma lake below as a laser breath made it impossible for him to escape. The attack kept searing through his stomach before I could see a hole, followed by the vomit-inducing smell of burned organs.

Surprisingly, though, the breath attack stopped before the dragon fell unconscious, but due to the damage, they were clutching their stomach in pain. In the next moment, the ceiling was further destroyed as a red arm slashed everything out of the way before the one responsible for damaging the rank S revealed themselves.

“Drahk-krakrona!” (Father!) Fehrkatruk shouted.

With heavy panting, a massive fire dragon peered through the hole in the ceiling, looking terrible. Scorch marks could be seen discoloring his red scales, while on his right side, his entire arm was gone including one of his horns on his head, all burned away from the look of the wounds.

He looked defeated as he looked down, pulling something along him. My eyes widened when I saw it was Ryra, equally burned up, but unconscious. The giant rank S roared “Catch” before throwing my brother’s body down, prompting me to use [Hydra] to do so.

Ryra! I grimaced when I got a closer look, noticing chunks of meat missing from his legs, tail, and one of wings ripped off. His health was, thankfully, only dropping very slowly as he was barely bleeding with [Absolute Status Nullification].

Dammit, big guy. How am I supposed to carry you around?

I tried to use a normal [Room], but unless I was inside, I couldn’t expand it enough to fit my brother inside. Meaning, I had no choice—I had to put him inside the subspace.

Handing one of the [Room] runes over to Vifi, I told her to sprint far enough so when we activated the portal, it would stretch wide enough to allow Ryra in. The rule did state that subspaces counted as “outside Miononbolax,” but it never mentioned going through portals and putting my siblings into one. Fortunately, Mom’s cavern and my Obsidian Orchestra were both large enough for Ryra to fit in until I could help him recover.

Just in time, even, as an avalanche of stones came pouring down as Fehrkatruk’s father, Hedthalak, fell into the lava lake, visibly grimacing as he stared up. Multiple titanic dragons escaped through the hole, some were recognized as my rank A protectors’ family, while others were enemies.

Hedthalak once again roared out, jumping out of the magma lake with renewed vigor, motivating those on his side to block the enemy rank S from reaching us. Fehrkatruk once again urged me to move, directing me at the tunnel the magma drakes used to flee.

Unfortunately, when we did, multiple enemy dragons dove into the ground, separating me from the rank As as the former ganged up on them. From the look of it, they were all rank As, meaning this would be a hard fight for my allies.

[“Run!”] our rank A allies ordered.

With clenched teeth and Vifi pulling on my horn to move, I turned around and flew through the tunnel with my wyvern retainers, eventually reaching the other side—another huge magma chamber. My eyes darted around, trying to find any dragonkin around tp could ask for help or directions to no avail. Even when I took flight, nothing. Even the wildlife was slowly running away from the fighting behind my escape tunnel.

Then again, I also hadn’t looked up, yet.

“Watch it!” Vifi shouted as she tucked my horns, nudging my head up where I saw a dive squad of wyverns.

I quickly flew out of the way, but their target wasn’t me, but the wyverns. An aerial dog battle erupted between them, with the diving squad quickly sending the two rank Cs into the ground. Fire and ice breaths quickly followed suit, sending everything into chaos as my retainers slowly were separated from each other.

I wanted to help out, but as I was flying closer, three fire breaths rained from above. I tried to simply move to the side, but magma missiles came flying down, aiming at Vifi and nobody else.

Our first reaction was to shoot them down with my spells and Vifi’s crossbow, but three dragons suddenly dove at me, destabilizing my flight through the wind pressure, and nearly knocking me down. I escaped the confrontation for now by using [Flash Fire] and [Shine] as a flashbomb, allowing me to finally see what was going on.

We got ambushed.

Shit! I cursed when I saw there was a hole in the ceiling. These dragonkin were waiting for me to come out.

Nine dragons flapped their wings, surrounding me in a sphere formation to block most of my escape options. Hikari confirmed my fears—three rank As and six Bs.

[“You can still escape, right?”] Vifi asked as she pulled out her spear before pulling out some mana threads to wrap it around my horn, using it like reins to hold herself onto me.

[“Shay. Beth,”] I replied, directing my eyes at the wyvern battle behind the dragon wall.

[“... We’re fucked.”]

[“... I’ll send you their levels.”]

Could I keep my hand from killing my own countrymen at this point? From the look of it, my brain was hardwiring itself to think of them as enemies with every second.

I couldn’t hold back, if I wanted to get free.

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A note from AbyssRaven

Hello, everybody, it's time for the release of Book 4 of Dragon Idol! Read it up on Amazon!

A Dragon Idol’s Reincarnation Tale Book 4: Aurora Rises on Amazon

The Audible version is sadly slightly delayed, so please await for when it’s ready to come out!

Aethon Books once again helped me with the publication and were the ones responsible for the book’s cover. Pretty good execution of the “party versus the big bad monster” imagery, right? Once again, Ms. Erin Bateman returns as the narrator for the audio version.

Here’s the synopsis!

A promise fulfilled, a dream of two lives achieved, yet the crimson fire wishes for more.

The adventures of Hestia, finally able to call herself a bonafide professional idol, now leads her deeper into the human kingdom of Artorias, specifically, to the small, idyllic town of Firwood.

No longer in the countryside, the number of prying eyes have grown ever more, and this time, they wish for more than to strike a simple deal. Whether it comes from the seemingly well-informed guild master of the hunter’s guild, the opportunity-seeking nobles, or the divine Goddess of Light who ushered Hestia into this world, the young dragoness would soon learn that tipping your toes into civilization would naturally force you to face its responsibilities.

With the scar of the God of Fire etched into her status Profile and her soul, the long-awaited talk with Aurena would thrust Hestia into the world of a god’s blessed. To become their Champion or Saint, to enact on their will and smite their enemies, and to reap the bountiful rewards their divine Quests would bring. Yet, all Hestia wishes is to live her life as an adventurer and to journey the world with her voice heard by everybody.

Freedom is fleeting ... Yet to Hestia, Saori, and Tasianna this fact is nothing new. To rise to the occasion to fight, protect, or entertain, that is the creed of this party!



Also, I would very much appreciate it if you guys could give my post on these two reddit sites a big thumbs up! It would help me a ton to spread the story to others!

ProgFant: /r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/1gkydhq/the_official_release_of_a_dragon_idols/

LitRPG: /r/litrpg/comments/1gkydrr/the_official_release_of_a_dragon_idols/