Chapter 75 - Childhood Tribute

Chapter 75: Chapter 75 - Childhood Tribute

Before the summoning...

Back at his mother’s place, Vincent stood alone in front of the couch, staring intensely down at the dragon egg resting on a pillow. He paced two steps left, ran a hand through his blue hair, and cleared his throat.

He stared at the smooth, polished eggshell, imagining Maelle’s stoic face staring right back at him.

"Okay... take two. Maelle, I know I said some pretty harsh things back then, but– no, wait! Dammit, that sounds way too defensive!"

He rubbed his temples and tried again. "Maelle... I’m sorry for being an idiot– gah, no! That’s way too weak! Where’s my dignity?!"

He took a deep breath and tried a softer approach. "Listen, Princess... over the time I’ve come to know you, I’ve come to care about you more–"

Vincent stopped mid-sentence as he felt a shiver running down his spine. "Ugh– Bleurgh! What am I, a character in a cheesy third-rate romance novel?!"

He slapped his cheeks until they turned red as he stumbled through three more terrible attempts.

"Maelle, it’s not you, it’s me–no! Maelle, if you just let me explain–boring! Maelle, I missed your cold, unfeeling glare–the fuck is wrong with me?!"

Finally, he let out a defeated sigh. He reached down, picking up the egg, and held it up to his eye level. All the bravado and anxiety drained away, leaving only genuine vulnerability in his blue eyes.

"Maelle... I know I hurt you. And I wish I could go back to say it a little gentler. But just know... my feelings have changed since the day I fell into your life. Will you... please give me another chance to say what I really mean?"

Silence filled the living room. Only the gentle ticking of a mantle clock answered him.

"Of course. No answer. What am I even doing pouring my soul out to a dragon egg."

crack...

"Hm?"

Spiderweb fractures suddenly split across the middle of the shell.

crack... c-crack.. crack crack...

"Hey hey hey... Don’t tell me..."

Crack... c-crack—BANG!

The top of the egg exploded open. A green baby dragon popped its head out, unfurled two leathery wings, and let out a high-pitched, roaring burst of flame straight into the air!

"SHUUUT THE FUCK UUUUP!"

"What the hell?!"

"Finally! I thought I was gonna rot in that prison forever!"

"S-So... you’re finally awake?"

The dragon snapped its head around and pointed a tiny, clawed finger at Vincent’s nose.

"Awake?! My poor damn ears have been awake this whole time, listening to you whine like a lovestruck high school girl! ’Oh Maelle, please give me another chance!’ Bleurgh, gag me with a spoon!"

"Wha–?! Hey! I am NOT a lovestruck high schooler! I-I don’t even... I don’t love Maelle! I just... I care about her as her partner!"

The dragon rolled its eyes so hard it nearly tipped over. "Oh, please! Who are you trying to convince, blue-head?! Stop coping and lying to yourself! It’s pathetic!"

Vincent opened his mouth to deliver a comeback, but realised he literally had no counter-argument.

The hatchling then turned its chaotic rage toward Vincent’s home life. "And don’t even get me started on you and your ’Mama’! The weirdly intimate stuff you two do and talk about while I was trapped inside that egg?! My God! The fuck is wrong with you!?"

"WOAH! Stop right there! You make it sound like we were doing something incestuous!"

"You basically were!" the dragon screamed back, waving its tiny arms comically while in Vincent’s hands. "On top of that, you’ve got a tsundere redhead waifu, a playful blondie waifu, a demon succubus waifu, an elf waifu, and now you’re falling for your own master! Do you have any idea how unfair this is?!"

Tiny tears of jealousy welled up in the baby dragon’s golden eyes as he thrashed around. "YOU’RE LIVING MY HAREM DREAM, YOU BASTARD!"

"I DO NOT HAVE A HAREM! I am completely loyal to Nat! How do you even know about these women–!"

"WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO BULLSHIT?!" the dragon cut him off at full volume. "Even your ’Mama’ knows how this is going to play out! She talked to me while I was still in the shell about how excited she is for her ONE HUNDRED GRANDBABIES!"

"ONE HUNDRED?!"

"YES! ONE! HUNDRED! She’s already picking out names, you dense motherfucker!"

"I DID NOT FUCK MY–!"

Bzzzt–!

Suddenly, the crest on his neck flared up, and the familiar, gravitational pull of a spatial dimensional rift began tearing at his very soul.

Vincent’s heart leaped into his throat and a triumphant grin broke across his face. "She’s summoning me! Maelle’s calling me back! Mama did it!"

He quickly grabbed the cushion and tried to set the baby dragon down. "Stay here! I’ll be back as soon as–"

"No way in hell!" The dragon panicked, diving off the pillow and clamping its tiny claws straight onto the fabric of Vincent’s shirt. "I’m not staying in this empty house! I’m going where the gold and the sexy ladies are!"

"Let go, you green lizard!"

Vincent tried desperately to pry the stubborn hatchling off, but before he could dislodge it, his body, as well as the dragon lodged to him, phased out. A flash of white light swallowed both of them whole and they vanished from the living room.

.......

"Fuck you looking at, bitches?! Give me all your gold!"

"IT’S A DRAGON–!!!!!!"

Vincent set the hatchling down on the floor when his eyes immediately locked onto Maelle, who was kneeling near the wall with her wrists bound in suppression cuffs. She was looking at him with tears in her eyes.

"Maelle–"

Before he could go to her, a heavy shadow stepped into Vincent’s line of sight.

Rizer cracked his knuckles as his snout twitched with grotesque rage.

"You... You’re that little shit you stormed my shipyard. I thought you ran away with your tail between your legs."

Vincent turned his gaze up to boarkin. "Oh, hey, Rizer. I see you’re still running around playing gang leader. Damn, have you gained weight since we last fought? I’m pretty sure I helped you lose it when I beat the ever-loving crap out of your fat gut?"

Rizer’s face flushed purple with rage. "I’m gonna cave your skull in!"

With a roaring battle cry, Rizer swung his massive warhammer downward with enough force to split a boulder.

thwack—BOOM!!!

However, Vincent easily caught the head of the weapon with a single hand! The shockwave cracked the floor beneath his feet, but Vincent’s arm didn’t budge an inch.

"W-What?!" Try as he might, but Rizer couldn’t pry the weapon out of Vincent’s grip.

"Looks like you didn’t learn the difference in strength between us last time we fought. Well now I’m gonna teach you again. My turn."

Vincent drove an enhanced fist straight into Rizer’s bulging gut.

"NGAH–!"

BOOOOOOM!!!!!

Blood and spit spewed out his mouth as the blow launched his massive body backward like a cannonball, blasting straight through the front doors and crashing into a dozen thugs and guards out in the courtyard.

The guards and knights inside the foyer drew their weapons as panic drove them to strike. "Kill him! He’s just one man!"

"Get in line, chumps!"

Vincent swept his leg in a wide arc, unleashing a blade of compressed wind that swept the knights off their feet, blasting them out the broken entrance. He leaped forward like a whirlwind of blue light and delivered swift strikes that cleared the entire foyer in less than ten seconds.

He then flew out the mansion to deal with the rabble.

Down on the floor, the little green dragon waddled over to Maelle, squinting his green eyes at her frozen face.

"So... Are you the Princess?"

Maelle blinked down at the foul-mouthed hatchling in utter bewilderment.

"Who...?"

"HA! HA! HA! Who am I?! I am Ignis the Destroyer! Tremble before my–"

"EUGENE~!"

"HUH?! THAT VOICE IS–?!"

A blue figure descended from the second-floor balcony, swooped down, and yoinked the baby dragon right off the ground. Maribelle cuddled the hatchling against her cheek, giggling happily. "Oh, I’m so glad you finally hatched, little dwagon~!"

Having never actually seen her, Eugene was baffled by her divine beauty. "W-Woah... gorgeous..."

Then he snapped back to reality, flailing his tiny legs. "Wait, no! My name is not Eugene! It’s Ignis the Destroyer!"

"That’s not cute at all," Maribelle ignored his protest as she booped his snout. "Besides, I already named you Eugene. Now, come along, let’s get these silly cuffs off our new friends!"

Outside, an absolute chaotic war was raging across the small courtyard.

Vincent fought and moved like lightning among the ranks of the Imperial Guards and thugs.

CLANG! SLASH! BOOM!

"Is this the best the Imperial City has to offer?!" Vincent shouted, parrying a thug’s sword and backhanding him through a crowd. "You guys are gonna really have to try harder than that! Don’t you want your precious Lulu?!"

"Fall back! Re-form the phalanx position!" an Imperial Guard screamed as his men were launched into the sky.

Nearby, a Solarian Royal Knight began conjuring his summoning spell. "I’ll summon my Familiar to enhance–"

"Stop!" His lieutenant grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Our orders were strictly to capture the Princess and rescue Lucianne Elsa! This situation has escalated beyond our control! We were not authorized to engage in heavy combat such as summoning our Familiars! We must retreat and report to His Highness at once!"

Understanding their orders, the Solarian Knights blew their retreat horns. "Solarian Knights, fall back! Retreat!"

The golden-armored knights systematically withdrew, abandoning the Imperial Guards and Rizer’s remaining thugs to face Vincent’s wrath alone.

"VINCENT~!"

A pink blur shot through the air. Ava – now freed from her suppression net – flew straight across the courtyard and wrapped her legs around Vincent’s waist in a tight koala-style bear-hug while sobbing hysterically into his neck.

"I missed you! I missed so much, you stupid idiot! *Sniff* You smell so good!!!"

Vincent stumbled while trying to block a thug’s club with his free forearm. "Ava! I’m glad to see you too, but we’re kinda in the middle of a battle right now!"

Before a guard could stab him from behind, a wind enhanced arrow shot through the air and pierced their wrist.

Roxa landed beside them with her bow drawn and a rare smile gracing her lips. "It is good to see you again, Vincent."

"Roxa?! What are you doing here?!"

"Helping you clean up the mess!" Gwen yelled, leaping into the fray beside them with Firetongue flaming on her shoulder. "Less talking, more swinging, Vincent!"

"Don’t have to tell me twice!"

Together, the quartet unleashed choreographed chaos onto the remaining enemy forces.

Even little Eugene got into the action – flying through the air like a little green menace, breathing mini-fireballs directly onto the rear ends of the fleeing thugs and guards.

"HAHAHAHA! BURN, YOU PEASANTS!"

Not that his little fire is doing any significant damage.

Seeing the syndicate and guards’ formation breaking, Vincent focused his power and changed his stance, bringing his hands together to execute a signature move. The ground beneath his feet and golden sparks zapped around his body as he powered up.

"KAAA MEEE...!"

"Vincent, what are you doing?!" Roxa and Gwen defended him from attacks as he stood still.

"HAAA MEEE...!"

A wave of blue aura of divine power circulated his body and swirled all into one section. His hands.

"HOLY SHIT!!! EVERYONE RUUUN!!!" Eugene’s wing flapped desperately as he flew behind cover. Gwen, and Roxa, all joined him when they felt something major was about to happen. Ava, of course, stayed glued to him the entire time.

"THEY LEFT HIM WIDE OPEN! GET HIM!!!"

""""OWAAAAAHHHH!!!""""

SHEEN~

"HAAAAAA!!!"

BOOOOOOOOM!!!!

""""GAAAAAAHHH!!!""""

A giant wave of compressed blue-and-gold pure divine power exploded from Vincent’s hands and travelled across the courtyard, blasting Rizer, his men, and the remaining guards straight through the outer walls, embedding them into the stone buildings across the street.

"Fwaaahh..." Vincent let out a misty breath as the last shimmers of blue light faded from his hands.

’Childhood dream: Fulfilled. Respect +’

Silence descended over the ruined grounds.

Ava slid down to her feet, wiping happy tears from her eyes, while Gwen and Roxa sheathed their weapons, catching their breath.

Vincent turned around slowly to the frog entrance and saw her. Maelle. Her suppression cuffs had been removed, leaving her standing tall in her black cape. Her silver hair brushed against her shoulders and her violet eyes locked directly onto his.

At that moment, everything faded into total background noise. For the first time in a week, they were face-to-face, and their long-awaited conversation could finally begin.