ROAARRRRRRR!
My eyes widen, my head snapping in the direction of the earth-shaking roar.
"Well, I heard that." (Mizuki)
I scan the horizon, straining to see the source of the sound. Then, I finally notice it – a rapidly enlarging dark-colored blob in the sky. As it nears, I can make out more details, until finally, I can make out something very familiar-looking.
Zara's incredulous voice reaches my ears.
"Mizuki, is that...Nina?" (Zara)
I narrow my eyes, much of my levity disappearing as I take in the form of the rapidly approaching, massive brown dragon. It's not hard to answer Zara's question. Thanks to my Bond with her, I know exactly where Nina is at all times.
"No, definitely not. But it certainly looks like her." (Mizuki)
I quickly extend my magic sense towards the dragon, probing it for information. After a moment, I let out a breath of relief. I was worried that this was one of the two other Elder Dragons I have yet to meet, but my magic sense tuned for an Elder Dragon signature didn't register it.
That said, I doubt anyone else would be relieved by that news. From what I can sense, it has a power level almost as high as the Greater Spirits. On top of that, the dragon is almost on top of us now, so I can see how fucking massive it is. Not as big as Nina, but imposing enough to trample Zara's whole village uncontested using just its body.
ROARRRRR!
Another fierce roar rips through the air around us as the dragon lands in the middle of the farmland area below. It's massive wings sending blasts of wind with each flap, kicking up dirt and whipping past Zara and me. The dragon folds its wings onto its back, sweeping its gaze back and forth across the surrounding plains as it lets out a low growl. It lowers its head closer to the ground and begins walking through the ground, as though it's searching for something.
As it does, the rabbit-kin's cries have long since fallen silent, and I continue to probe the dragon with my magic sense. As I gauge its affinities, I stiffen. Elemental class...only earth affinity...
My thoughts drift to my first discussion with Azazel when I transmigrated, about how there are both Elder Dragons and normal dragons on Azura, just like there are regular spirits and Greater Spirits. I can't definitely recall where the minor dragons come from, if he even mentioned it, but I know that they're not nigh-immortal like Elder Dragons. And given this dragon's appearance and affinities...
My eye twitches. A hundred thousand years of abstinence my ass!
[Hey, Nina...] (Mizuki)
I feel a rush of pleasant surprise through our Bond.
[Mizuki! Fufufufu...miss me already?] (Nina)
I smile humorlessly.
[Ohhh...you're certainly on my mind. You know, I'm just having the most fascinating encounter right now.] (Mizuki)
ROARRR!
As if on cue, the dragon lets out another roar, then it begins swiping its massive paws at the ground in front of it, sending massive chunks of soil flying about.
Nina picks that moment to respond as well, the curiosity she's feeling clearly conveying that my sarcasm went unnoticed.
[Oh? Interesting how?] (Nina)
My jaw sets.
[Nothing much, apparently. Oh, unless you consider finding out that I'm a step daddy a big deal. Most people would, but clearly our relationship has transcended the need for exchanging such trivial information.] (Mizuki)
A stunned silence hangs over our Bond.
"Uhm...Mizuki!?" (Zara)
SCREEEECH!
ROARRR!
As I glance up at Zara's unexpectedly urgent tone, I pick up the sound of shearing metal amidst the roars of Nina's bastard child. Bits of shiny, metallic shards can be seen flying through the air, interspersed with the chunks of dirt from the dragon's last paw swipe. At this point, there's already a deep crater in the earth where the dragon has been digging.
The reason for the metal shards quickly becomes clear...
"Aggghhhhhhhh!"
A rabbit-kin man goes flying through the air with the latest debris, a gory trail of blood and bodily matter trailing behind him. The dragon moves.
CRUNCH!
The rabbit-kin erupts in a shower of blood and flesh as the dragon's teeth clamp down on him, ending his life in an instant. Below, a high-pitched shriek echoes out, racked with pain.
"NOOOO! {in rabbit-tongue}"
I glance down at the source of the shriek, and am surprised to see that the dragon's digging has now reached many meters into the earth. At the bottom of the hole, it looks like some kind of steel, dome-like structure has been exposed. A portion of its roof has been torn off, and inside...several dozen rabbit-kin are cowering on the ground, some of them covered in blood, potentially injured.
Just then, the ground below us starts shaking.
RUMBLLEEE!
SCREEECH!
"Mizuki, do something!" (Zara)
Zara's gaze is fixed on the scene below in disbelief, as the earth seems to erupt upward of its own accord, carrying most of the metal dome out of the ground and further shearing its structure. The rabbit-kin inside it digress into another series of terrified screams, while nearby, the dragon's gaze is fixed on them hungrily, a low growl emanating from it's throat.
Clearly, it's inherited Nina's ability to manipulate earth on a whim...mommy must be so proud of her little monster.
Zara steals a glance at me, a rare trace of urgency and concern in her expression. I sigh, still annoyed by Nina's silence as my voice drips with sarcasm.
"Like what? I can't very well discipline Junior without mommy's permission now, can I?" (Mizuki)
Zara gives me an absolutely bewildered look.
"What? Mizuki, it's going to eat them!" (Zara)
Her voice is laced with a touch of reproach, enough to snap me from my daze and make me feel a twinge of guilt at my flippant attitude. The Nina predicament and my lingering irritation with the rabbit-kin aside, I don't want any innocent deaths gnawing at my conscience.
I quickly focus on the situation, sweeping my gaze over the rabbit-kin in the now exposed metal dome. It's at this point that I notice...every one of them is at least in their twenties. Furthermore, several of them look familiar from our earlier encounters, and there's no furnishings or anything of the sort inside the dome.
Feeling a sneaking suspicion, I probe into the ground with my magic sense. Sure enough, There's multiple distinct clusters of two or three dozen people buried at about the same depth as this metal dome was, while the larger, thousands-strong population of rabbit-kin I sensed before is even further down.
These must be some kind of intermediate shelters that all the farmers rushed to from the fields earlier. I immediately feel my anxiety disappear at that realization...looks like this isn't anything that will gnaw at my conscience after all.
I shrug at Zara.
"No need to worry, there's no kids or anything. It's just the same farmers we've been dealing with...the ones who clearly want us to stay far away from them." (Mizuki)
Zara's eyes widen in surprise, and she turns back to observe the terrified rabbit-kin with a conflicted expression. As the dragon saunters closer to them, no doubt moments away from a lovely feast, Zara eventually sighs.
"Be that as it may, I'm not quite irritated enough to let them die. In addition, if they see us saving them from certain death, that will probably earn enough goodwill to finally have them talk to us, right? Still, I'm well aware that I'm no match for that dragon...I can only ask that you intervene for me. I would greatly appreciate your help, Mizuki." (Zara)
I sigh.
Well, when she puts it like that, I really don't have much of a choice. I give Zara a small smile and nod.
"Okay, stay here and wait until it's safe." (Mizuki)
I quickly deactivate the gravity spell that was keeping us airborne, replacing it with a massive, latticed forcefield in the shape of a cage. It should serve as a platform for Zara to stand on while I deal with the dragon, and protect her from any physical attacks. Plus, it's sitting inside the invisibility spell I left active.
As I prepare to teleport to the ground, I feel a rush of realization and amusement through my Bond with Nina.
[Mizuki, have you perhaps encountered a minor earth dragon?] (Nina)
I raise my eyebrows at her carefree response, but I quickly put it out of my mind. I don't have time to continue this discussion at the moment.
[Sorry Nina, you can tell me who the father is later. Right now I need to go discipline the little guy on Zara's behalf, but I promise not to kill him.] (Mizuki)
I could, of course, do such a thing without even bothering to move from where I was, but that would be a waste. After all, Zara said it herself – saving these rabbit-kin may help our case. However, that only applies if they clearly know that we saved them.
So, this fight needs to be nice and flashy.
I spare an excited grin, then activate my magic armor and some modest physical enhancements before promptly teleporting out of Zara's safety box. I appear between the dragon's head and the rabbit-kin, floating in plain view of both. I can't see the rabbit-kin's reaction, but the dragon visibly falters. If I was better at reading dragon facial expressions, I assume that he...wait, could the dragon be a she, maybe? Guess I'll have to ask it for its pronouns later. In the meantime, he'll just be a he, and I assume that he is confused by my sudden appearance right now.
I hold my hand up towards the dragon's face in a halting gesture, then raise my voice as loudly as I can. I want the rabbit-kin to hear me, after all.
"Hold it right there! These rabbit-kin are under our protection! Leave now, or I'll be forced to hurt you!" (Mizuki)
While I hear the rabbit-kin below me begin whispering amongst one another, the dragon doesn't seem to have any visible reaction. My brow furrows in confusion.
Maybe he didn't hear me?
[Hey, I'm trying to tell you that you can't eat these guys. I know it doesn't look like it, but I promise you that I'm a lot stronger than you. If you just leave peacefully, though, I won't hurt you. In fact, I'd prefer to not upset your mother by doing so, despite me being a little miffed with her right now.] (Mizuki)
I project my thought-speech at the dragon, hoping it will take my threat seriously. Then again, I clearly remember that Nina didn't, so my expectations aren't high. However, the dragon still doesn't show any visible reaction to my attempt at communication. He just keeps focusing his eyes on me, standing in place several meters away. If he understands me at all, I'm seeing no signs of it.
I purse my lips thoughtfully.
[Nina, sorry to ask this, but is your kid by chance...uhm, you know...cognitively impaired? Or, if you have more than one secret lovechild, do any of them fit that description, or have particularly dumb fathers?] (Mizuki)
I feel a twinge of annoyance from Nina, followed by a rush of expectant amusement.
[The fathers, hmm? Oh, it's hard to keep track of them, so I really couldn't say.] (Nina)
I freeze. Are...are there actually multiple!?
[Wait, what do you mean by that?] (Mizuki)
[Oh, silly me. That's not what you wanted to know about, right? So, minor dragons...they are actually only slightly more intelligent than a wolf. If you are speaking to it through words, even telepathically, they are unlikely to understand you.] (Nina)
Is she ignoring me!? Also, I guess 'it' are its pronouns – mom's rules.
ROARRR!
I feel a hot, smelly wind blow past me, snapping my attention to the once again enraged-looking dragon. It appears that it's brief moment of hesitation has passed – it's massive maw is closing in on me. Clearly, my warning fell on deaf ears.
I slow time, giving myself the leeway to briefly consider how to respond. The dragon's head appears almost frozen, just a couple meters away from me. I purse my lips thoughtfully.
Gravity magic is out, since it's too subtle for the rabbit-kin to notice. At the same time, I don't want to accidentally kill Nina's little tyke, so I can't go firing plasma balls all willy nilly. That only leaves...a straight brawl.
Time for Junior's first spanking.