The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

– POV General –

"Her Majesty Gaya is the ruler of an Empire located in the neighboring country and she has not stolen this title since to this day she is the only dragon capable of officially mastering two elements, earth and fire"

As Magnus finished his sentence, an explosion of aura from Klover suddenly blew the room revealing his emotions. This last piece of information, the earth dragon capable of firebending ? This was the last straw. Unlike Aneyaris and Nordin who knew how to contain themselves, the blonde-haired man always reacted in a hurry without ever asking questions.

It didn't matter if his reaction was out of proportion, his pride took over very easily, especially when the subject touched him directly. Standing in front of his stone seat, the golden blond dragon was almost growling, staring intently at Gaya with his hostile gray eyes trying to intimidate her. Unfortunately for him it didn't work at all, in fact it didn't work for anyone although Magnus found himself suddenly overwhelmed by the situation not understanding anything anymore.

He too thought that this meeting would go well, impatient even to see the reaction of the three leaders to the dragoness who appeared out of nowhere. Imagining something rather positive at first, what was happening before his eyes was the exact opposite of what he had hoped for. The Priest knew that Klover had great pride, but he didn't think it was that great and now wondered how to defuse the situation calmly.

"In this case show us !!!"

However everything was already going very fast, in a few minutes the clan of fire dragons carried by their leader stood behind him ready to attack far from the imagined respect. The relationship between the vampires and the leaders of the three clans hidden underground was not very good but here it seemed worse. They all lived far from humans, holed up for years to survive and yet no team spirit had developed, they just tolerated each other.

"Show us then if you are so full of yourself !!!"

"..."

"So ? You come here and say that you are firebenders as earth dragons and you think we will accept it ? Don't disrespect us, we are proud of what makes our clan and we will never believe that bullshit ! You may have mastered fire but it's only a pale copy of our element but go ahead and show us !!!"

Still motionless, the Queen of Elysium had said nothing hoping that Klover would calm down a bit on his own but she understood that it was a waste of time. She also knew that even if her wife showed no sign of hostility for now, she was ready to act at any moment and that, could create great damage. Gaya also felt the smile of Kira who was ready to jump to use her fists so, convinced that it was to her to act the beautiful dragoness advanced.

"Fine, then so be it I will show you"

Without waiting, already quite annoyed by the disappointment she was experiencing, she had taken a few steps forward before activating her new, still unknown element. At that moment her long, beautiful crimson hair flared up forming flames of that same singular color as red as the setting sun. In response, the leader of the fire dragons transformed his forearms, making his claws and scales appear, also covering them with a golden fire.

As if this was the beginning of this strange confrontation, a rune in the form of a circle made of several others suddenly formed under their feet. Thus, a thin but powerful barrier of mana activated by Aneyaris had appeared creating two distinct groups in the middle of the stone seats. The strangers from Elysium accompanied by the Priest and the Queen were locked in front of Klover the Magnificent with part of his clan behind him.

Everyone knew that this meeting would not end in a bloodbath, even if the outcome was still too uncertain. In the end, it was just another demonstration of power triggered by misplaced pride, but if that's what it took to get to the dialogue, then so be it. Under the protective dome, the heat began to rise as Gaya and Klover's flames grew thicker by the second.

Steam emanated from their boiling bodies filling the space as the air grew heavier, hotter and harder to bear. For the fire dragon clan members, this was not a problem and that is why they hoped to make the other group give in first. They knew that the heat alone could burn the skin and lungs, suffocate and put immense pressure on them thanks to the power that came from the heat.

Yet to the Magnificent's surprise, neither Gaya, Freya nor the others behind them showed any sign of weakness increasing this urge to triumph. Raising the heat of his body, his golden flames began to burn like a real inferno enveloping his entire body. Like an incandescent sun, he then took a few steps very slowly to go and stand a few meters away from the dragoness with defiance.

Boiling air currents were emanating from Klover, the dome had turned into a giant oven where even the cold stone was beginning to melt. Even those outside could feel the heat, wondering how those inside were able to resist without being burned. Jade had put on her blood armor, Magnus had wrapped himself in his bat wings while Kira, Kalaa June and May had done the same with their mana.

Only Freya had done nothing, remaining there without showing the slightest sign of discomfort, watching everything like a hawk with piercing eyes. Gaya had also made flames appear all over her body while she held the gaze of the one who was starting to grind his teeth. More heat wasn't enough, he still needed more even though his mana was starting to run out burning up by the minute to increase his heat.

"Klover, you should stop that..."

Aneyaris watched from behind the barrier with a smile and had sensed that there was no point in continuing since no one had given in yet. Besides, she knew him well, even though he was very powerful in battle as far as mana was concerned he had found stronger. Yes, it was not simply a confrontation on the heat of the flames but especially a challenge which required to have a very good control on its own mana.

Indeed it was necessary to know how to dose the right amount to mix power and heat, not too much to exhaust their mana but enough to set themselve on fire and more. The woman of the water clan knew that he was a powerful brute but far from being a genius in this field. However, for the beautiful crimson haired dragoness it was quite the opposite, she could feel that this woman was powerful, worthy, respectful and even more than that.

"Sigh...that he is stubborn"

"Mmmh..."

While Aneyaris sighed at her friend's behavior, Nordin, on the other hand, half-listened watching rather intently at the fox girl a bit in the background while chewing his steaks. The seconds passed, the minutes and finally the thin barrier started to crack slowly. The next moment, the mana dome exploded making the huge rune disappear on the ground while the huge cold room became as hot as the inside of a volcano.

In a huge explosion of heat shaking the walls of this immense empty cave, all the spectators were propelled backwards. Everyone began to incant their element to protect themselves, suddenly not finding the situation as amusing as before. Even Klover had begun to back away from Gaya's crimson flames, as had his clan who had covered their skin with scales to withstand the fire.

Soon, the dragon leader of the clan did the same, falling to the ground under the power of the Queen of Elysium, trying to fight back but to no avail. Suddenly, she made the flames that emanated from her body disappear, seeing that the one who had challenged her was no longer covered by his golden flames. It was over, however the room was still very hot, too hot, the black walls having become red just with the suffocating and boiling ambient air.

Without caring about that, the beautiful dragoness clicked her high heels on the floor to approach Klover sitting on the floor with a dazed look. Yes it had been a long time since he had fought, it had been a long time since he had exploded his power like that but still. He didn't understand what he was missing and as he watched Gaya approaching, she came to a stop right in front of him before hearing her say words that he wouldn't forget.

"Your flames are as hot as the sun at its zenith but mine are steeped in blood and the worst horrors of this world. Pride and strength are not everything...kiddo"

Just after saying this, the walls of the cave began to shake more and more as pieces of the ceiling began to fall. The heat had to be brought down quickly but just as Aneyaris was about to take her dragon form to spit water, someone had acted first. In the blink of an eye the dark, glowing room changed to a bluish white almost as transparent as crystal.

No one had had time to understand that everything had been covered with a very shiny and beautiful ice from the floor to the ceiling, freezing the cave in time. Nothing fell or shook anymore, the calm had returned along with a cold breeze almost soothing this ice cave. The problem had been solved at the same time as the little challenge had ended, which finally gave way to the discussion originally planned.

"W-Well...can we now get down to business ?"

Giving absolutely no one time to figure out who had done this, Priest Magnus clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. They had wasted enough precious minutes, now it was time to move on and talk about what the outsiders meant to Vampires and Dragons alike. In any case, everyone was stunned, even Nordin had stopped eating his raw steak now lying on the floor trapped in ice.

"Since there are no objections then I will make the introductions, I beg you all this time to pay close attention, this is very important..."

Klover stood up silently looking annoyed but smart enough to admit defeat and still now curious about what was going to happen. Aneyaris had planted her axe in the ground leaning her elbow on the handle scanning the newcomers with squinted eyes. All were now completely attentive even if everything had also quickly become rather confusing but everyone was hanging on Magnus' lips to understand.

_______

"Tch, an Empire ? Really ? What are you ? Some kind of clan made of different survivors who get it into their heads to stand up against the humans ? Tch, suicidal !"

"Actually it's about..."

"I recognize your power but I will not lead my people to extinction because of the folly of a stronger than average group !"

In just 20 minutes the Priest had told what he knew, starting with the sudden arrival of Queen Jade and the Dragon Queen Gaya from the next country. However, he had barely mentioned a potential alliance for the future war with Zal in exchange for precious things, when once again Klover grumbled. He knew he had powerful beings in front of them, but even so, the mere mention of war made everything impossible.

Besides, what was happening in the other country seemed to be nothing more than a copy of the Kingdom they were all in at the moment. Perhaps they were more powerful than here, but for him it was not 1,000 or 2,000 people that would make the difference. As Gaya was about to answer, it was someone else's voice that suddenly echoed in the cave from behind coming from the figure that was finally approaching.

"Not counting the Empress and the Queen, there are 10 Chaos Commanders each with over 1,000 fearsome soldiers under their command who train every day. There is also another Commander, the one who is currently commanding two races of demons, the three of them able to raze this city in an instant. Results of the last war against Zal ? Death of the King, death of the leader of the Paladins and the Captain of the Knights as well as the annihilation of exactly 3,000 human soldiers. Any other questions ?"

"A-And...and y-you...you are ?"

Freya had finally stepped forward giving an account of what had happened a short while ago without even mentioning the other numerous dead adventurers. In an instant she had found herself in front of the leader of the fire dragons who couldn't help but stammer for different reasons. Was it because of the violet eyes fixed on him ? Was it the sudden feeling of oppression or was it her impressive cold beauty ? He didn't know but someone else seemed to have found the answer.

"This, my little buddy, is the Empress herself hehe~ Am I wrong...your Highness~?"

Aneyaris had appeared at his side placing her hand on his shoulder in support, looking straight at the she-wolf with a small chuckle. She too was feeling these sensations but it only fueled her curiosity as she felt a great change coming. Then laying her axe on her right shoulder, the woman faced the Empress who had become the main source of her interest before declaring in front of everyone the decision she had made.

"I don't know about the Magnificent, but personally I am very interested in what you have to say and offer. The women of the water dragon clan are never afraid and I must say that Elysium looks like it could offer me the battle of my life hehehe~"

"Well...*yawn*...the lightning clan is going to join the discussion as well, I've had enough to eat and as that crazy woman next to me said...to me you all look quite different and intriguing mmmh"

Just after her words, the young Nordin who seemed at first sight lazy had taken a very serious look, interested in Kira he kept in the corner of his eye. He had understood that she was the demon commander that Freya had mentioned and that this young woman also manipulated lightning. Everything had become so interesting, away from the daily boredom of being buried day after day away from the humans shamefully underground while their ancestors owned the sky.

The Empress had understood this and the mere mention of the Empire's ever-growing numbers had been enough. Two were interested and even though at first glance it all seemed suicidal, their excitement was present and their instincts were screaming at them to listen to what was coming next. However, in a great silence, Freya stayed immobile with a smile in the corner revealing one of her canines as she waited for the last one concerned to decide.

"Tch..."

A few seconds later, hissing, Klover would eventually sit down as well, seeing how attentive and serious the other two had become. Besides, he didn't want to miss an opportunity especially if Aneyaris and Nordin took it, he had to be in it too. So, once again, after a rather difficult start, the possibility of all the dragons joining the cause was very high, it was just a matter of Freya being convincing and it was perfect because...she was very good at it.

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