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Chapter 15: War of the Dragons (3)
Chapter 15: War of the Dragons (3)
Chapter 15: War of the Dragons (3)
I can't oppress them.
I can't persuade them either.
What should I do with those arrogant dragons who think they are above the sky?
How can I control those who cannot be controlled?
At that moment, a flash of lightning crossed my mind.
If they won't listen to me, why not have them listen to those they would listen to!
After all, there are children who are perfect for the job!
[Erebus. Shamash. Ifrit. Thetis. Sylphid. Sagarmatha. Yggdrasil. Appear before me.]
"Mother?! Did you call us again?!"
"Please stop calling us with this! I get dragged away from other things!""Uh... I'm Fine."
"Sagar and I always have time. You can call us anytime. But what's the matter all of a sudden?"
I pointed silently at the red and black dragons.
Seeing the dragons covered in wounds, Ifrit and Erebus's expressions hardened.
"These children have fought, and some dragons have died."
"Uh, mom? The kids might be a bit willful, but... maybe it's okay for kids to fight a bit?"
"What kind of children fight to the extent of taking each other's lives? Especially when the dragon birth rate is plummeting, and their numbers are decreasing. To try and kill each other over trivial disputes..."
I sighed deeply and said.
"At least I made a rule not to harm hatchlings... That way, the newly born could be protected. Without such a rule, those reckless ones would have surely killed the hatchlings."
It was also something that escalated into a war.
"Anyway. Since I can't suppress all the children, you'll have to take responsibility for your own."
"Us? Those troublemakers?"
"My children are relatively obedient... but what if other children start trouble?"
"Obedient? The black dragons? Those who are insanely increasing their numbers?!"
"Yeah! The blacks being obedient? Impossible!!! There are so many of them! Recently, among the newly born hatchlings, only the blacks are in double digits! That's unfair!"
"It's not unfair. It's just that dragons of other colors are less proactive in increasing their families."
Well, about half of the hatchlings are black dragons, though.
"Anyway, since they are children born from you, you should properly manage them. I can't manage all the children."
"Is there something even Mother can't do?"
At Erebus's words, I sighed.
"That's right. I thought about forcibly managing them a few times, but it only led to destruction."
"De...struction?"
"No, it's nothing."
No need to mention rewinding time from the future.
"And... if you don't manage properly, I'll give you a penalty. I should have done this sooner..."
"What? Us? Suddenly?!"
"Oh my... That would be troublesome for Erebus, who has many children, right?"
"Um... My kids. They're well-behaved."
"My children too. They don't fight unless provoked. It should be fine."
Yggdrasil and Sagarmatha's children rarely cause problems, so it should be fine.
The biggest issue is with the blacks and reds... but I have no choice but to leave that to those two.
"Mother. If we manage our children properly, instead of punishing us for failing, will you reward us?"
"Hm? A reward?"
At Erebus's words, I was momentarily speechless.
I hadn't thought of that? Hmm...
Alright!
"For the next 100 years, to the parents of children who do not kill other dragons..."
The children's eyes focused on me. With eyes full of expectation for what would come out of my mouth. Eyes that were slightly burdensome.
"Just one thing. I'll grant anything. As long as it's within my power."
At those words, all the children looked at me with surprised eyes.
What? Is that so surprising?
"A...Anything?"
"Are you serious, Mother?"
"Yeah! Mom! You shouldn't say such things lightly!"
"Mom! You should take care of your body!!!"
"Uh... I disagree...!"
"Oh my... What's going on!"
Why is the atmosphere like this?
Just granting one request, why is it such a fuss??
"Hmm... None of you are confident in managing your children, I see? Then, this contest is... my victory?"
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Shamash's words, brimming with confidence, make all the other children bristle in unison.
"That statement! We can't just let it slide!"
"This is why she is a golden glitter with no brain!"
"I'm confident in managing my children!"
Uh, well... do your best in managing?
"By the way, the penalty will be confiscating the dragon scales I gave you."
Upon my brief addition, the children's expressions stiffen.
What. Why. What.
The scales I gave you. Since you're not doing your job properly, I'll confiscate them.
Is there a problem with that?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thus, the not-a-bet I proposed, hoping the dragons wouldn't kill each other, turned into...
"Why has it come to this..."
A war where they do nothing but not kill each other.
"Surely! I said not to kill!!!! But why are they thinking of ways like plucking out wings! Or severing limbs! Or barely keeping each other alive!!!"
I looked down at the dragons collapsed at my feet with a wretched appearance.
"Especially the black dragons! Erebus!!! Intentionally provoking other dragons to induce attacks! Using your family in such a way!!!"
I clutched my throbbing head.
A war where lives are spared. A war where countless dragons try to tear each other's limbs off.
This... was not the outcome I wanted.
Above all, what infuriated me... was that even after rewinding time over and over, it converged to the same result.
Even after rewinding time dozens, hundreds of times, changing conditions, adding prohibitions, stopping fights, the cunning children finding loopholes in the weak rules to start wars... made me feel dizzy.
But to ban everything would be the same as oppression, leading only to destruction.
Being unnecessarily smart, yet not listening at all. If I knew it would be like this, I would have just turned everything back to nothing... no, that's not it. Right.
Even if I'm angry, there are things I should and shouldn't do.
I sighed and healed the dragons rolling at my feet. I could completely regenerate their lost bodies, but doing so would only make them jump back into war. It was the same thing over and over again.
Dragons drawing lines with the color of their scales, rejecting each other. Dragons considering only those with the same scale color as family, ignoring those of other colors.
At this point, I even started to wonder if the existence of dragons was wrong from the start.
No, I'm a dragon too... but I'm different from those children.
So. Let's just endure a little more.
Just a bit more. The set period of 100 years.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In the plains where all dragons, except for the unknowing hatchlings and unborn eggs, are gathered.
In the plains where all children, including Ifrit who lost his body after losing his scales, are gathered.
I spoke softly.
"I set a condition hoping you wouldn't fight, but you all aimed to eliminate each other, eyeing only the reward."
During the set period of 100 years, the children didn't stop warring for even a moment.
Not taking lives, that's all. No, even that was violated when a red dragon killed a black dragon, causing Ifrit to lose his scales and return to flames.
The red dragons, having lost their parent, wandered without a place to go and were now under my protection.
"Mother... but..."
"Shut up. Erebus. I did not give you the opportunity to speak."
Erebus. Erebus... Clever Erebus. Cunning Erebus.
Why use that brilliant mind to eliminate other children?
To use your own family, your own children, as bait, as sacrifices to eliminate other children.
I am so very sad.
"Did I seem so insignificant in your eyes? Because I have always been a kind mother to you, did my words seem like they could be ignored?"
The children do not answer. Despite having grown relying on my kindness, my goodwill, my heart... the children ignored my words, no different from seeking to spread their wings according to their own will.
"I did not want to become a scary and fearful parent, so I tried to be as kind as possible, to persuade with words as much as I could."
In the clearing where all dragons are gathered. Dragons with healthy bodies and those with injuries. I let out a small sigh at the sight of dragons gathered according to the color of their scales.
Even in this situation where I am angry, still distinguishing each other by the color of their scales.
"Now my patience has reached its limit. I have been patient for a long time, and even after rewinding dozens, hundreds of times, your foolishness keeps repeating, and I am sick of it."
So. I will show you true fear.
I will show you that you should have feared a much more powerful being than hating and fighting each other.
Quietly, I used a magic I did not want to use.
Summoning a meteor that was quietly orbiting in space, and casting it down upon this world with magic.
Meteor. Meteorite fall.
It was the moment when the cosmic strike that would destroy the world tore through the clouds in the sky and revealed itself.
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