Chapter 121: Dawn of Ragnarok

"Come on, Lana wants to buy ice cream!"

The young dragon girl ran across the snowy street with a laugh, and she turned around and urged Rita and Percy to hurry up! Lana, Rita, and Percy had decided to come outside to see the festival tonight since there was no work to do in the library, and Percy couldn’t help but smile when he saw the excitement on Lana’s face. Percy was wearing a simple coat over a T-shirt and trousers, and Rita was wearing her usual black gown. Since they were both so powerful, they didn’t really feel any effects from the cold, and they were able to walk through the snow without any worries.

"Slow down, Lana. You’ll fall over."

Rita spoke up from beside Percy with a small laugh, but Lana didn’t even seem like she heard Rita as she continued jogging forward while making shoe tracks in the snow. Rita was holding Percy’s hand softly, and she just shook her head as she saw Lana run into one of the children playing at the side and then fall into the snow.

"Just let her have fun. She’s been working hard all year."

Percy said this with a smile, and Rita finally shrugged. It was true that this year had been especially busy in the library, but Lana had worked for most of it without any complaints! Rita and Percy decided that Lana would be getting anything she wanted this winter break, but for now, they were going to go get some ice cream.

"Madam Rita, look!"

Lana suddenly called out from the front, and both Percy and Rita looked up to see what she was pointing at! It was the top of the large bonfire that the city had arranged, and Percy hummed when he saw just how large it really was! It towered over all the houses close by, and Percy guessed that it was at least fifty feet tall!

"Are they really going to set that thing on fire?"

Rita spoke up in slight worry as she wondered about the safety of this celebration, and Percy just laughed and told her that it would be fine.

"The King always makes sure there are enough mages around to contain any sort of fire outbreak. And besides, it’s really cold for the regular humans. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the heat."

As they walked, Percy saw some women at the side selling beautiful silver flower crowns to passing lovers, and Percy smiled as he moved towards them and bought one for Rita. Rita was a little surprised when she saw Percy coming towards her with the crown made from silver flowers, but her cheeks immediately reddened as Percy came closer and put the crown on her with a smile.

"You look beautiful."

Percy ran his fingers over Rita’s cheek as he said this, and Rita felt like her entire face was going to blow up from how hot it was! This wasn’t fair! Why would Percy do something like this in public!? Rita moved forward and gave Percy a kiss while muttering a quiet ’thank you,’ and Percy smiled as he took her hand and continued to lead her down the road.

It took a few minutes for them to get past the large crowds and finally make their way to the city center, and when they were there, they were in awe of what they saw. The entire city center had been beautifully decorated with lights and white trees that made it look like something straight out of a fantasy dream! There were hundreds of little children clapping and laughing happily as they moved around, and most of the children were watching the performers who were playing with fire-based tools while moving around the massive statue.

Percy looked up at the statue with a curious gaze, and he found himself looking forward to when they would light it up.

"Babe, Lana is over there. Come on."

Rita finally found where Lana had run to, and Percy looked over to see Lana bargaining with a man selling firecrackers to kids. Percy and Rita made their way over, and they heard Lana thanking the man as he took a handful of firecrackers and turned around.

"Master Percy! Madam Rita! Look! I got firecrackers!"

The firecrackers in Lana’s hand were tiny fireworks that most of the kids were playing with around, and Percy couldn’t help but smile when he saw this. Although Lana was a very dependable person in the Library, she was still just a child on the inside. Lana had been one of the first people that Percy rescued on his journey around the world, ten years ago, after the demihuman war ended and Percy sealed the dragon king in the demon world, there was a little dragon girl that Percy had found in the dragon king’s castle.

This girl was just a baby, and she had slept through the entire battles. Percy realised the moment he laid eyes on her that she was the dragon king’s daughter, and Percy didn’t know what to do with her at first. The first thing Percy thought about was to take her to Diana and the church so that they could raise her as a nun, but all of that had flown out the window when the little girl opened her eyes and saw Percy.

"Dada."

The little girl had called out to Percy while raising her hand with a large smile, and Percy had been so mesmerized by the little creature that he ended up deciding to take her in. Percy became her father, and she became his child. Even after Percy told Lana the truth of what happened to her real father and why he took her in, Lana didn’t care at all about it, and she had simply accepted Percy as her only family! Even as a child, Percy could tell that Lana understood the meaning of good and evil.

Percy reached out and patted Lana’s head kindly, and the dragon girl grinned up at him happily before she began to run off with the other children to go and light the firecrackers. Percy and Rita followed after Lana at a more reasonable pace, and they enjoyed the festival and the playing children for a long time before a loud voice suddenly echoed through the region!

"Ladies and gentlemen! The time has arrived!"

Percy looked up with everyone else to see a man with bat wings standing at the top of the massive structure in the middle of the square. The man had on a black robe, and he was wearing a white mask that made him look very mysterious!

"I believe you are all having fun! Our kingdom has enjoyed years of prosperity, and we must celebrate in thanks for the sacrifices that have brought us here today!"

The man flapped his wings, and he floated down to the ground and landed in front of the crowd! He then raised his hands, and all the performers around him began to move!

GASP!

The crowd gasped in shock as they watched the performers enter into a beautiful formation! They looked like acrobats as they held their flames and stood on each other’s shoulders and hands! Percy watched all this with some amusement in his eyes, and he nodded along as the performers began to carry out a routine of dances and acrobatic cartwheels that wowed the crowd! Every now and then, someone would blow out a torrent of fire from their mouth or something equally insane, and the crowd would go crazy for it! Percy just clapped politely and enjoyed the show with Rita, and it wasn’t until more than five minutes later that the man with bat wings spoke up again!

"We gather today in expectation of a brighter future, and in memory of our dark past! And so, without further ado, Ladies and gentlemen! I present to you the Dawn of Ragnarok!"