The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 29

Seeing that her siblings had agreed to stand down, Bianca turned, her gaze locking onto the seven remaining Aridfell with pure malice.

She spread her white wings and, with a single powerful downstroke, launched herself into the air.

Hearing the rush of wind, the seven Aridfell leaped as one toward the source of the sound. But Bianca was already airborne within the cavern; their attack met only empty space. She paid no mind to their strange, confused behavior, not bothering to question it. Her white, slitted pupils had narrowed into a single, focused line. A single thought consumed her: how to kill these vile things.

She folded her wings and dove.

Using the momentum of her fall, she slammed her foreclaws down onto the heads of two Aridfell. The immense force drove their skulls into the cavern floor with a sickening crunch. Her body tumbled forward, rolling into the midst of the pack and skidding to a halt with the two crushed beasts beneath her.

Her jaws snapped open, closing around the neck of a third.

She clenched her claws and jaws simultaneously.

Three choked whimpers sounded as one, and then silence. Three Aridfell were dead.

The four surviving beasts, still reeling from the impact, were jolted to their senses by the death cries of their kin. Without a moment's hesitation, they opened their mouths in unison.

Torrents of black flame spewed forth.

Bianca remained unmoved as the shadowy fire washed over her. She had felt this fire before. It was nothing, a mere candle flicker compared to Aiden's inferno. The black flames licked at her scales and dissipated harmlessly.

Hmph. The fire of a vile breed is—

AOWW!

A furious roar ripped from her throat. She looked down. Two of the Aridfell had latched onto her hind legs, their teeth sinking deep.

These cursed, wretched things!

At the same time, the last two Aridfell leaped, aiming for her neck. Instinct screamed at Bianca to deal with the airborne threat first.

Her maw opened, and a torrent of frigid air poured out. Her frost breath struck the two leaping creatures mid-air. A thin layer of ice immediately slicked their bodies, and their movements became sluggish. It wasn't enough to stop them, however, and they continued their desperate attack.

Bianca cut off the stream of frost. Her jaws shot forward, seizing the neck of one of the slowed creatures. The Aridfell sensed the danger and tried to fight back, but it was too slow, its movements clumsy and blind in the dark. Her teeth found their mark with perfect accuracy.

Simultaneously, she raised a claw and met the other attacker, her razor-sharp talons sinking effortlessly into its skull.

She clenched her jaw and talon at the same time.

Whine~

The beast whose neck was broken let out one last, pathetic cry. The one in her claw was less fortunate. Its head was torn clean from its shoulders. It had no chance to even scream.

…

Watching this, Aiden knew the tedious battle was about to conclude.

Bianca was a simpleton, he mused, but she made for an excellent meat shield. She was covered in wounds, yet she fought as if she felt nothing. In fact, the pain only seemed to make her fight harder. Any normal Hatchling would have fled after sustaining such injuries.

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Not Bianca. Her only instinct was to utterly destroy whatever dared to harm her.

…

The fate of the remaining Aridfell was sealed. After dispatching the two jumpers, Bianca lowered her head. A claw for each, a simple motion. She pierced their skulls and, with a savage twist, ended them. The last two Aridfell were dead.

Now, only the two corpses hanging from her hind legs remained.

Bianca reached down, grabbed a body with her claws, and simply pulled.

AOWW!

A roar of pure, agonizing fury filled the cavern.

Even Aiden and Azure were taken aback. She is a vicious one.

She could have easily pried their jaws open. Instead, she chose to rip them free through sheer, brute force.

AOWW!

Another roar echoed as she tore the final corpse from her flesh. Without a moment's pause, Bianca immediately began walking deeper into the cave.

Watching her retreating back, Aiden thought, So she's noticed.

From the moment they had landed, Aiden had smelled it: a faint, milky scent wafting from the cavern's depths. The scent of Aridfell whelps.

The adult corpses weren't going anywhere. He cast a dismissive glance at the scattered bodies on the floor and began to follow her. His long, crimson tongue flicked out, wetting his lips. What would Aridfell whelps taste like? They should be quite tender.

Azure watched them both go, then began to move as well. She, too, was somewhat curious about the whelps—specifically, about their flavor.

The cavern was vast and labyrinthine, with massive stalactites drooping to the floor like the teeth of some colossal, dead god. Following the scent, they rounded a giant stone pillar.

Yip… yip…

The high-pitched, mewling cries of Aridfell pups reached them.

They quickened their pace. Beyond the pillar lay a small, sunken basin. It was crawling with newborn Aridfell, their eyes still sealed shut. The whelps were swarming instinctively toward Bianca.

She, however, was holding one up by the scruff of its neck, bringing it toward her open maw. She held it over the chasm of her mouth and simply let go.

The whelp dropped into the darkness.

Emmmm~

She chewed thoughtfully.

The taste was surprisingly good. Rich, and with a hint of milk.

Bianca had noticed Aiden's arrival. She turned her head toward him.

“Aiden, these vile breed pups taste great! They've got a kind of sweet flavor. Don't you want to try one?”

His eyes roamed over her body. She was covered in dozens of bite wounds. Remembering how she had torn the corpses from her legs, he figured she had inflicted a good portion of the damage herself. Not that it mattered. What was important was that the bleeding from every wound had already stopped. The wounds had clotted.

With that recovery rate, a single sleep cycle would likely see her fully healed. Enhanced constitution. A truly useful talent.

Her white, slitted pupils stared at him, glittering with excitement. Looking into those oddly cute eyes, Aiden felt a strange impulse. He reached out a claw and gently touched the top of her white head.

The instant his talon made contact with her cool scales, a jolt went through his body. Aiden snatched his claw back as if he'd been electrocuted.

What just happened to me? How could I possibly have thought Bianca was… cute? And then I just… reached out?

“Aiden, what do you think you're doing?!” Bianca snapped, recoiling from his touch.

A dragon's back and head were sacrosanct. No one was permitted to touch them. If she didn't know with absolute certainty that she couldn't win a fight against him, she would have lunged.

Seeing her baring her teeth, Aiden decided to change the subject. He lifted a claw and pointed to his left, indicating the devious blue dragon who was already feasting silently.

Bianca tensed, her gaze following his pointed claw.

There was Azure, a whelp in each of her own claws, continuously stuffing them into her mouth.

AZURE~! Bianca roared.

The roar had no effect. If anything, Azure began to eat faster.

Infuriated, Bianca joined the scramble for food.

Aiden picked up a whelp himself, examining it. It was pink and completely hairless. It looked appetizing enough. Might as well try it.

He popped it into his mouth.

Emmmm.

He chewed. The taste was indeed excellent, with a distinct, milky sweetness.

Hm?

A sudden warmth spread through his body. Aiden noticed it immediately. The feeling was familiar. He focused his mind, calling upon the ring in his left eye.

A translucent panel materialized in his vision.

[Mana: 214 / 1505]

Wait. He looked again.

[Mana: 219 / 1505]

His mana had increased. He looked up at Azure, who was still eating with frantic speed. No wonder she was so enthusiastic. Five points of mana per whelp. A decent gain, to be sure.

Aiden joined the feast.

The three hatchlings were efficient eaters. There were only about forty whelps in total. Azure alone devoured nearly half of them, and Bianca ate more than a dozen. Aiden ate the least. He had only wanted to taste them. The five-point mana boost was negligible. A good sleep would restore far more. It wasn't worth competing with the other two.

Besides, the more he ate, the less effective they became. The last whelp he consumed only granted him two points of mana.

It was a case of diminishing returns. Utterly trivial.