SON OF THE HERO KING

Interlude 18: Siegfried

In the Depth of the World Tree, one of the trees gifted to the elves by the Demigod Yggdrasil, one man could be seen meditating with his eyes closed and legs crossed next to a small green lake. His green hair reached his tailbone and seemed to sway under a non-existent wide.

His upper body, devoid of clothes, was showing a deep tan that covered nearly everything.

Everything expects a specific spot on his back in the shape of a leaf. Only in that spot was his skin pristine white.

His long ears twitched as the sounds of light footsteps reached him.

“You have become sloppy, sister. I would have never managed to catch you approaching in the past.” His eyelids opened, showing beautiful green eyes full of vitality.

“Siegfried. We need to discuss.” Satella ignored the words of her brothers and sat on a rock not far from him.

“I miss the days when you would cutely call me big brother and follow me around everywhere I went.” Siegfried sighed and stood up. Then stretched a little. His back and bones made a series of sickening sounds as he slowly adjusted his body.

“It was more than 1500 years ago. We are not children now.”

“Indeed, we are not. But I believe one should endeavor to keep a young heart. Only then can they think like an adult.”

Siegfried smiled and approached a giant sword that was chained to the right wall. After inspecting the sword and making sure everything was okay, he was happy to leave for now.

“You still refuse to use your sword.” Siegfried's smile lowered a little when those words came out from his sister.

Gram. One of the highest-quality weapons. Something he had used to kill Ladon, his brother-in-law.

“That year was a mistake. You had no choice back then.” She said,

For an elf, threatening a dragon was no different from the vilest act possible. But he, Siegfried, had killed a dragon and became renowned as a Dragon Slayer.

It had been necessary. Ladon had gone on a rampage after Jupiter’s death, and Siegfried was the only one with the strength necessary to subdue it or eliminate him. In his own name.

“I know. My mind understands this. I had no choice but to kill him. The angels had no intention to join despite causing this mess and the old demon in Envilya will never reveal himself unless necessary. So I did what I had to do —And I have been regretting it every day of my life for one thousand years. Even my realm stopped growing, and I have no more hope to reach the Demigod realm.”

Siegfried was a singularity and an elf. Not all singularities necessarily achieved a high realm and were limited by their lifespan. As an elf, he did not have to worry about longevity.

Yet, ever since what happened on that fateful day, he had been unable to reach the next step. He had broken a taboo and now this taboo was like a nail in his heart.

He knew very well that once he went through it, he would find himself reduced to ashes and fail the ascension.

“Your situation is not so different from mine.” He gave his sister a wan smile and ignored the anger in the eyes of this girl. Siegfried wasn’t the only one whose path was broken one thousand years ago.

At that time, she had been so high and mighty, that nothing seemed to be able to block her rise. Becoming a Demigod might have been an uncertainty for most and a gamble for a few, but no elf had any doubts about her surviving the tribulation.

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Sadly, everything was destroyed on the day she faced Persephone Asmodeus. The witch of life. This single defeat had broken the invincible heart of Satella and reduced her Pride to dust. Her path to ascension was severed, and so she stagnated as a King for all those years.

“So tell me, oh dear sister, what do you wish from this cripple?” Siegfried, seeing the impassive expression of his sister, smiled in relief. A few hundred years ago, just mentioning this matter would have sent her into depression.

He was sure that she simply needed two or three short centuries before building her confidence again and rising as a Demigod.

“I need your help.”

“Oh? The proud Satella asked for help. What is happening?” He raised an eyebrow. Most of her pride may have been destroyed but it was highly unusual for her to ask him for help.

“We have many problems. The first one is…”

Satella started telling everything that happened in the last few months. The war between Lustburg and Wratharis, the rise of the so-called Dragon Emperor, the development of a new faith in the midst of the elves, and even the fact that his daughter was currently residing in the Mortal Realm.

“Oh? Nidhogg is here as well?” He showed a complicated expression. Siegfried was Hydra's son-in-law in a way. After all, he was the mate of Hydra’s blood-born daughter. The result of that union was Nidhogg.

Sadly, he had not been a particularly good father to her. In the first place, Nidhogg's mother only chose him for his seed, and from her words, since he killed a dragon he needed to give a new dragon.

After she became pregnant, he was kicked out of the nest and had little say in how Nidhogg was raised.

“Well, I guess she is not interested in meeting me.” He gave a bitter smile and shook his head, focusing on the more important matter.

Sol Luxuria. He knew that Blaze had a son. In fact, after Blaze died he even wished for her son to be raised in Southern Pride or be sent to the Dragon Realm. But Asmodeus had made clear that such a thing was not permissible.

“As expected of Her Highness’ son.” He was elated. Blaze had been a true friend to him in many ways. Someone he respected greatly and even a subject of his faith. In his opinion, had she been alive, there was no doubt that she would have become the true ruler of Dragon instead of Kiyohime.

Hearing about the prowess of her son, he could only click his tongue in wonder. Indeed. Blood did not lie.

Should I make a formal visit to Lustburg?

He idly wondered but was curious about something else, “I still do not understand why you need my help. Do you wish for me to stop the spread of that cult?”

He had no faith in the goddesses. Those willful and childish women were nothing but oversized children with too much power in his eyes. Only someone as regal as Tiamat or Blaze was worthy of his faith.

If the phoenix girl was spreading faith to prepare the road for Sol’s ascension to Demigod, then while he would not help, he would certainly not hinder her.

Satella shook her head, “No. I simply need you to follow me. We will negotiate soon with Lustburg and I can already predict that the way things are going — We will lose a great deal.”

Southern Pride had a few king-ranked powerhouses hidden and far more Dukes than Lustburg could ever hope to have. If Lustburg and Southern Pride where to go to war, then she was sure that Southern Pride would win 9 out of 10.

But — Sol was a dragon.

“His identity alone is enough for many of the elders to not even fight. The younger generation would be less affected but with the action of that girl, Nefertiti, everything changed. I believe the moment I even dare to suggest war, I will have an uprising on my hands.”

Elves were not peace-loving creatures. Siegfried had become more or less a pariah after killing a dragon, and that was despite the fact that said dragon had gone crazy.

If she went to war willingly against Sol — Her country would crumble from internal strife before any kind of war could happen.

Listening to her, Siegfried laughed out loud. Anyone who was not an elf would feel disbelief at her words, but he knew very well that she was even understating some of the facts.

Elves were crazy and full of obsession.

He could already imagine people coming after Satella's life or challenging her for the crown.

After wiping a tear away, he chuckled and nodded, “I will help you, and I also want to see the Son of the Dragon Queen for myself.”

This was certainly going to be an interesting meeting.

(Siegfried was first introduced during the Dragon arc. Firstly by Fafnir then later on when Kiyohime spoke about what happened 1k years ago. He is also the son-in-law of Hydra.)