Dragon Across the Multiverse (Si-WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 21: Whispers in the Dark

In the blink of an eye, we appeared back in Alexandria as I kept my hand on Yukime’s shoulder, steadying her as she stumbled in place, not being used to the sudden transition.

“Sorry about that, probably should have warned you that the first time is a little disorienting,” I said a little sheepishly before pulling my hand away as I saw her steady herself.

“I-It’s alright,” Yukime muttered, appearing a bit dizzy for a second before she shook it off with a shake of her head and looked around, widening her eyes as she did, seeing we were in a completely different location. “Whoa~ Is this your home?”

Her mother and fellow villagers were also just pulling themselves together before they all let out surprised gasps of their own as realization hit that they were no longer in their former home.

“Welcome,” I said loudly, catching the attention of the whole Spirit Fox tribe as I spread my arms grandly. “To Alexandria. Your home for the foreseeable future.”

I then turned and continued as I walked towards the ruined city proper with the others quickly falling into step with me, Yukime beside me, as they observed the ruins in awe and muttered to themselves.

“As you can see, there’s still some work to be done until it’s restored and made into a proper city, but please be assured that you are safe here. The Mist Dragon, its protector, is my subordinate and will keep anyone, unless told otherwise, from entering so you have nothing to fear.”

This time my words were met with sharp exhales as Yukime whipped her head to look at me with wide eyes.

“Y-You have a dragon as a subordinate?” Yukime asked in a shocked mutter, which only increased as I nodded. “I thought they were only myths, stories told to impressionable children?”

Smiling at her, I was about to respond before I realized we had reached the ruined city proper, already seeing a bunch of my clones still working diligently.

“How about I show you?” I asked with a relaxed smile, then mentally and verbally called out to my new subordinate. “Dreamweaver, come. I want to introduce you to some people.”

Ignoring the muttering behind me that grew with each passing second, I waited patiently before I grinned as I felt a small tug signifying Dreamweaver’s use of Apportation as it suddenly appeared in the sky above us in all its majestic glory.

“You have called for me, my Lord?” His deep voice rang out through the ruined city.

At its appearance, screams of surprise and fear were heard behind me as the Spirit Fox tribe took in a creature only thought of in myth or folklore.

Yukime beside me got jittery and unconsciously got behind me seeking protection, with one of her hands cutely holding the back of my shirt as she muttered a quiet, “It’s real~”

“I did,” I responded to the dragon, nodding my head. “As you can see, I have invited a few people to join me here and I wanted you to properly meet them. In fact, there are also another two I want you to meet.”

I paused as I felt two presences quickly nearing our location and turned my head with a smile, seeing the forms of Sherry and Lukreia running towards me.

“Never mind, seems they sought me out instead.”

Sherry didn’t slow down at all as she tackled me with a flying hug. Catching her and spinning in place made her giggle before I put her down and patted her head.

“Akari-kun~ You’re back! And you brought so many people back with you! Oh! Is Mr. Dragon also a friend of yours?” Sherry babbled at a rapid pace before cutely tilting her head as she got a good look at me and started tapping her lip with a finger. Then she snapped her fingers in realization, pointing accusingly at me.

“You look older! Did you lie to me and instead of going out for a few days, you took years to return!? How come you didn’t take me with you, meanie!” Sherry pouted at me angrily.

Before I could respond, Lukreia jumped in quickly, grabbing her daughter in her arms and, like the curious Yukime, who was watching everything with a tilted head, used me as a living meat shield, standing behind me.

“W-What’s going on, Akari-kun? Are we under attack?” Lukreia asked with a worried look, one eye fixed on Dreamweaver, who thankfully didn’t look offended at being interrupted.

“He’s actually my subordinate,” I said easily with a shrug, getting her to widen her eyes in shock as Sherry let out impressed sounds and clapped happily at me.

“Sugooi~”

“Anyways,” I said with a shake of my head, turning to the dragon once more, “I just wanted you to meet the new residents you’ll be protecting, Dreamweaver.”

Everyone except myself and Sherry watched with bated breath as the dragon took in my words before nodding respectfully, to their increasing surprise.

“Very well. The name bestowed upon me by my Master is Dreamweaver. You may address me by my name if you wish. I will allow it, as fellow subordinates of my Lord. I have only one warning to give you all… betray my Lord and you will feel my wrath!” Dreamweaver said with a regal tone before it changed to one radiating raw power as he let some of his magic wash over the ruined city. Then he reined it in a second later, getting his point across.

“Was there anything else, my Lord?” Dreamweaver asked me, now looking all relaxed and tamed again.

“Yeah, that was everything. Thanks, Dreamweaver, keep up the good work,” I congratulated with a relaxed smile.

“I live to serve.” With those parting words and a bow, the dragon suddenly disappeared as if he wasn’t there at all, leaving a stunned and slightly fearful crowd behind.

“Well, there you have it, from the Dragon’s own mouth. This place is perfectly safe, so please relax, everyone,” I said, turning back to them and giving a two-fingered salute in a ‘v’ shape.

I was met with stunned silence and incredulous looks from Kumiho and her tribe before I felt my sleeve being pulled. Turning towards Yukime, I found her looking at me with new eyes.

“A-Akari-sama,” Yukime suddenly said, now addressing me with a respectful honorific, causing me to slightly frown. “W-Who are you really? To be able to transport more than a dozen people instantly halfway across the world and being able to tame a legendary dragon, something thought to only exist in myths? And if what Sherry-san said is true, being able to shift your form at will…”

Yukime’s question caused Lukreia and Yukime’s people, along with her mother, to nod silently, also wanting to know. The only one not too interested, instead poking me to try to get my attention, was Sherry, she was just 9 years old, after all.

“Who am I, huh?” I repeated her question out loud with a lazy smile growing on my lips. “I’m many things. A ninja, an assassin, a hero to some, a villain to others, a simple slime, a monster, a Demon Lord, a King, and a Dragon myself.”

I said simply, releasing a pair of giant, majestic dragon wings from my back, blue scales glittering under the light.

I was met with silence at my seemingly ridiculous claims and declarations as I called back my wings, to Sherry’s displeasure, and let a true smile grow on my face.

“In the end though, I’m just Akari Tempest. An immortal traveling the world in search of people I can call friends, while helping here and there, and dealing with any people who piss me off or hurt my loved ones.”

A bigger silence settled over everyone, and wanting to give them time to process what I had just said, I turned around and decided to help with the reconstruction, making sure the new people had everything they would need in their homes.

“For now, I suggest everyone relax and make your decisions with a calm mind if you want to stay here or not. Some of my clones will be by in a minute to show everyone where they’ll be staying if you decide to stay.”

With those final words, I disappeared, not seeing the admiring looks from Yukime or Sherry.

‘So what do you think, Ciel? Pretty good first impression, right?’ I asked with a grin. ‘Do you think I managed to look all mysterious? Huhuhu, that was actually kind of fun~’

I heard a deep sigh from the back of my mind that only made me chuckle deeper. “…Master is a child after all. But I guess it was adequate.”

‘Yes!’ I fist-pumped. ‘Huhuhu, now I just gotta come up with a good plan to troll Cid.’

=====

That Evening

Looking at myself in a large mirror, I turned this way and that as I admired my reflection.

I was currently wearing my true demon lord outfit: black pants, a black shirt, and a long black coat. To finish it off, I summoned Shizu’s mask and stuck it to the side of my head.

“What’s your verdict, Ciel? Personally, I think the mask is the cherry on top and goes pretty well with the all-black outfit. If there’s something I agree with Cid about, it’s that all black is meant to be worn at night.” I slid the mask over my face, completing the image.

“At least Master is not planning on having a public identity, so the possibility of the common populace discovering who he is is minimal, unless he decides to reveal himself in the future,” Ciel said, neither approving nor rejecting my choice.

At her words, I looked off to the side and started whistling innocently, hearing a pained sigh afterwards.

“At least the mask will hide Master’s magical presence,” she added, sounding somewhat defeated but knowing I would do it anyway.

Before we could continue, I heard a knock on the front door of the house I was currently staying at, nothing fancy, just a two-story home with all the comforts of the modern century.

Pulling the mask to the side of my face, I walked towards the door and opened it, already knowing who it was due to their presence.

As the door opened, I was greeted by Yukime, who looked a bit embarrassed visiting me this late in the evening.

“Yukime, what a pleasant surprise. Please come in. Was there anything you needed?” I asked as I stepped aside with a smile.

“T-Thank you! And sorry for bothering you so late,” Yukime said quickly as she shyly entered my home, following me into the living room.

As we walked, Yukime kept cutely turning her head this way and that, curiosity written across her face, though she chose not to ask questions in an effort to avoid being rude.

“Don’t worry about it, you’re always welcome here,” I said lightly, gesturing for her to take a seat. “Now, before you tell me what you’re here for, would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee, or something sweet?”

“Tea ple—” Yukime suddenly blinked at the other choices. “Coffee? What’s that?” she asked curiously, her ears twitching adorably atop her head.

“Hahaha, alright, I’ll just bring you all three and you can try them,” I chuckled. With a snap of my fingers, a teapot appeared on the table in front of us, along with a coffee pot and a fruity drink.

Wanting to show off a little, I even summoned some pastries from my inventory.

Yukime blinked in surprise, watching the food and drinks appear seemingly from nowhere, then shook her head. “That will take some getting used to,” she muttered before warily sampling the spread laid out before her.

She quickly became distracted, savoring the pastries and the mango juice, while I simply watched her scarf them down in quiet amusement.

When Yukime finally noticed me staring, her cheeks turned crimson. She covered her mouth with both hands and immediately tried to apologize. “I—I apologize for forcing you to see me in such an unsightly manner, Akari-sama!” she said, bowing her head.

Frowning at the honorific, I reached out and gently patted her head, my fingers brushing against her ears and causing her to turn an even deeper shade of red while stammering nonsense.

“Hey, Yukime, would you do me a favor and just call me by my name, no honorifics?” I asked with a small smile, making her blink and meet my gaze. “Despite being an immortal, I’m still pretty young, only two years older than you actually.”

Taken aback by my words, Yukime could only nod slowly. “O-Okay.”

Patting her head one last time, I let my hand fall away and sat back. “Thank you. Now, back to the topic at hand, was there something you wanted from me?”

Blinking, Yukime seemed to remember why she had come and quickly slapped her flushed cheeks, adopting a more serious expression.

“Y-Yes! I just wanted to let you know that my tribe has decided to stay here with you, if you’ll still have us,” she said, bowing her head.

“Sure. That’s the reason I sought out your tribe in the first place, so feel free to call this your home,” I replied immediately, nodding. Her slow, almost surprised nod made me chuckle.

“Thank you! You won’t regret this,” she said, bowing again.

“You’re welcome. Though… was there something else you wanted to say? If you just wanted to tell me your tribe accepted living here, it could’ve waited until morning, right? That means there’s something more.” I gave her a small, knowing look, which made her glance away, cheeks coloring.

“Y-You’re correct, of course, Akakri-sa—Ahem, Akari. You see, I was wondering if you could maybe, possibly… maybe train me?” she asked at last, looking at me with an adorable pleading face that I honestly couldn’t tell if she was doing on purpose or not.

‘Train, huh?’ I thought in amusement, letting out a soft chuckle, apparently the wrong move, as Yukime’s ears lowered, flattening against her head, no doubt taking it as rejection.

“Sorry about laughing, I’m not laughing at you, I promise. I just found the question a bit funny, since I had already planned to train you up in the future, with your consent, of course,” I said with a smile, resting my chin on my palm.

Yukime gasped, her ears shooting back up and her tail wiggling behind her as she beamed at me. “You were~?”

“Yes,” I nodded, smiling, though I grimaced inwardly as I realized I was running out of time to save Rose before Cid showed up. “I can tell you have a lot of potential,” I added, praising her.

Her excitement only grew; Yukime nodded vigorously. “Thank you, Akari~ I promise to work hard!”

“I’m sure you will,” I said, giving her one last pat on the head, making her blush again. “Now, I hate to cut this short, but there’s someone who currently needs my help, and I want to assist them.” I let my hand fall away and stood.

Yukime blinked, standing as well, the words finally settling in. She bowed her head, shame coloring her tone. “I—I’m so sorry for taking up your time!”

Shaking my head, I waved her concerns away. “Don’t worry about it. As you just saw, I can travel great distances in an instant, and I wanted to hear what you had to say.”

Yukime reluctantly accepted my reassurance, still looking a little guilty, before her gaze drifted to the outfit I wore and the Shizu mask resting at the side of my head. “I see. Then please, don’t let me keep you waiting. Do what you have to do.”

“Would you mind locking up for me, then, Yukime?” I asked, sliding the mask fully over my face. “I should be back by morning, and we can talk more then if you’d like.”

“Of course! Leave it to me~” Yukime declared, fists clenched, her tail wagging.

“Very well then, good night.” I focused for a second on my destination, snapped my fingers, and caught Yukime’s soft “good night” just before I vanished completely.

‘Time to fight some bandits and troll an insane sociopathic child,’ I thought with a grin.

=====

Somewhere in Midgar — Rose POV

Trying to make as little noise as possible, Rose wiggled her hands and feet in a desperate attempt to loosen the rough bindings cutting into her wrists and ankles. Every movement was a gamble; the muffled laughter drifting from the main room told her the bandits were still there, still alert.

She froze each time the laughter rose, forcing herself to breathe quietly, heart pounding.

Her struggles grew more frantic when she overheard one of the men mutter something about “sampling the goods.” Cold fear tightened her chest.

‘Someone… anyone. Help!’ she pleaded silently, praying the gods or fate or sheer chance might send her a miracle.