My Dragon King System-Chapter 383: Stand At The Ready

The strange man walked through the grounds of Delheim with his black robes trailing behind him as he moved.

Then, without slowing in his steps, the world around him changed.

It was as though he had teleported, but it was hard to say since there was no flash of light, nor distortion of space. The world simply shifted.

At first, everything went dark. Then, suddenly, he was in the void of space.

Around him, swirling clouds of purple and blue nebulae extended out in every direction. Stars twinkled and glowed in the distance, and cosmic dust drifted past him.

In front of him, suspended in the void, was a greenish mass of energy. But this energy felt alive, and it pulled him toward it.

The man did not resist. He allowed himself to be drawn forward, until he came to a stop before the mass of energy.

Then he bowed his head.

"Master," he said.

The voice from the greenish mass of energy spoke. It was feminine and eerie, layered with echoes that made it sound as though multiple voices were speaking at once.

"Are they all ready?"

The man kept his head bowed. "I believe so, Master. All that remains is your next instruction."

There was a pause. The energy pulsed brighter for a moment, as though considering his words.

Then the voice spoke again. "Stand at the ready."

The man smiled. "Yes, Master."

The greenish mass pulsed once more, then the void around him began to fade. The stars, the nebulae, the cosmic dust, all of it dissolved into darkness.

And then he was back in Delheim, standing exactly where he had been before.

——

That night, Aiden still on the island’s grounds stared up at the skies with a concerned expression on his face.

His eyes glowed red, which was a sign that he was using his dragon sight to scan the world.

Uriel walked towards him and stopped at his side, followed his gaze upward, then looked at him.

"Still haven’t found them?" she asked quietly.

Aiden shook his head.

Uriel waited, knowing he would say more when he was ready.

Aiden sighed and lowered his gaze from the sky. "What truly bothers me is the feeling," he said. "I hate how I know and can feel the wrongness somewhere in the universe, but yet I am unable to pinpoint anything."

He paused, then continued. "I’ve searched the minds of every living thing on this planet. Down to even the minds of the crawling things beneath the earth. And I can’t find anything that in any way feels out of place. Everyone is still moving toward their destined paths."

Uriel’s expression grew more worried. "This is the first time since three years that I’ve seen you struggle against something."

Aiden sighed again and shook his head disappointedly, . "I don’t like it."

Uriel moved closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You’ll find them."

Aiden looked at her and managed a faint smile. "I hope you’re right."

———

In the Uweron fortress, within the halls of the kingdom of Solrath, the champions were beginning to disperse after a long meeting.

Zephron, former Demon Lord of Sloth, was about to sneak away when a voice called out to him.

"Zephron."

He stopped and turned.

The leader of Solrath, a tall man with sharp features and a commanding presence named Morguen Varen, was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"You’re part of the fight tomorrow," Varen said.

Zephron scratched the back of his head and gave a lazy smile. "Ah, about that... I can’t. I’m not feeling too well."

Varen ’s expression darkened. "It’s the same excuse you gave earlier today. And yesterday. I’m done taking it."

Zephron’s smile faded slightly.

Varen stepped closer. "We face Valaross tomorrow. The strongest continent left. And we will not lose because of your idiocy. So you will go out tomorrow, and that’s final."

For a moment, Zephron said nothing. Then his magic spiked.

The air around him grew heavy, and the temperature in the room dropped. A few of the other champions nearby felt it and turned to look.

Zephron’s expression had changed. His eyes were cold now, and his smile was gone. He hated that this person, this mortal, was speaking to him, someone of his caliber, in that manner.

He was about to act.

But then he stopped.

He took a breath and let the magic settle. He knew that if he acted, it could draw the attention he had successfully tried to avoid since arriving here. And that would ruin everything.

So he let it go.

"Fine," Zephron said. "I’ll go tomorrow."

Varen nodded but with a frantic expression on face. "G-good."

Zephron turned and left the hall without another word.

——

That night, the leaders of Valaross gathered in the central hall for a council meeting. The atmosphere was tense. Tomorrow was the final day of Stage One.

They discussed Uweron’s weaknesses; their reliance on coordination, their slower champions, and their heavy use of elemental magic.

So they agreed to send champions who could counter those strengths

The meeting ended shortly after the leaders of Valaross had concluded on how they would go about the finale for stage one

———

Later that night, Oberon returned to his private quarters. Thamoryn was already there, sitting by the window and looking out at the night sky.

He walked over and sat beside her.

"Do you think we’ll win?" she asked quietly.

Oberon didn’t answer right away. Then he said, "We have to."

——

Katherine had been in the restroom for over twenty minutes, and Elena was starting to worry.

She stood outside the door, her hand raised to knock, then hesitated. Maybe Katherine just needed space. But then she heard it again; the sound of retching, followed by a wet cough and heavy breathing.

Elena knocked. "Katherine? Are you alright in there?"

There was a pause, then a weak voice replied, "Yeah... I’m fine."

Elena frowned. That didn’t sound fine.

She knocked again, harder this time. "I’m coming in."

Before Katherine could protest, Elena pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Katherine was kneeling on the floor beside the toilet, and her face was pale and damp with sweat.

Her hair was disheveled, and she looked like a complete mess. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked up at Elena with tired eyes.

Elena’s concern deepened. "You don’t look fine."

Katherine tried to stand but swayed on her feet. Elena immediately moved forward and caught her by the arm, helping her steady herself.

"I don’t know what’s wrong with me," Katherine muttered. She placed a hand to her forehead and winced. "I’ve been feeling sick all morning, and I’m running a fever. I thought it would pass, but..."

Elena guided her to sit down on the edge of the wooden bathtub. "Let me try goddess embrace."

She raised her hand, and a green glow began to emanate from her palm. Goddess Embrace was effective against most common ailments; fevers, infections, minor injuries.

Elena placed her glowing hand on Katherine’s forehead.

The warmth spread through Katherine’s body, soothing and gentle. But after a few seconds, Elena still looked confused.

The fever wasn’t going away.

Elena pulled her hand back and stared at Katherine with wide eyes.

"What?" Katherine asked, her voice filled with worry. "What’s wrong? Why didn’t it work?"

Elena took a step back. "If this was a normal fever, it should have gone away with that healing spell. But it didn’t."

Katherine’s eyes widened. "Then what is it?"

Elena looked at her carefully, then said, "This isn’t a fever. Captain... You’re pregnant."

Katherine’s mouth fell open. "WHAT?!"

Her voice echoed through the bathroom and out into room where the women of ravens grave bunked in.

Within seconds, footsteps rushed toward the room. The door burst open, and Aeris, Innis, and Rin appeared, all looking alarmed.

"What happened?!" Aeris asked, her eyes darting between Elena and Katherine.

Katherine was still staring at Elena in shock. "I... I’m pregnant?"

Aeris’s eyes went wide. Innis gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Rin blinked a few times, then grinned.

"Wait, you’re pregnant?!" Aeris said, her voice rising with excitement.

Katherine didn’t respond. She just sat there, looking like she’d been hit by a shockwave.

"I can’t be pregnant," Katherine muttered. "I mean... we... but I didn’t think..."

Rin smirked. "So who’s the father? Wait, never mind. It’s Piers, right?"

Katherine’s face turned red. "Rin!"

Rin shrugged. "Just confirming."

Innis placed a hand on Katherine’s shoulder. "How are you feeling about this, Captain?"

Katherine let out a shaky laugh. "I don’t know. I just found out thirty seconds ago."

Aeris sat down beside her on the edge of the bathtub. "It’s okay to be overwhelmed."

Katherine buried her face in her hands. "I can’t believe this."

Elena knelt down in front of her as well. "Do you want to tell Piers?"

Katherine looked up, her eyes wide. "I... I don’t know. Not yet..."

The other women nodded.

Elena smiled. "Well, whenever you’re ready Captain, we’re here for you."

Katherine managed a small smile. "Thanks."

But despite the shock, a sort warm feeling began to settle over her.​​​​​​​