Chapter Text
The Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.
Mainly known for its covenant with the Divine Dragon Volcanica, many believed the country to be impossible to raid; not because its military force and defenses were that good (they were quite weak actually, with some notable exceptions), but rather, because the very same Holy Dragon that had formed a pact with Lugunica’s Royalty had vowed to defend the country in times of crisis – which is to say, against any external threats scheming to attack the country.
If you had a good head on your shoulders, you’d know best to try anything else rather than marching straight-forwardly into war with this country due to the famous pact between the Lion King Farsale and the Divine Dragon. And yet, not all forms of defense are impenetrable; knowing this, Stride Vollachia was able to successfully launch his malicious campaign on the country without the intervention of Volcanica… at first. In his final act, the magical seal that interfered with the Holy Dragon’s barrier was suppressed when the King of that time stepped inside it – and Volcanica took notice.
Thus, it can be said that, while not the best form of defense, the very existence of Volcanica and its covenant prevented a majority of the nasty people outside Lugunica's borders to remain where they are due, unable to directly act against the country sworn to protection.
All it takes however, is one very misguided, insane and brilliant individual with a power bordering works of fiction to shatter the safe bubble Lugunica has been subjected to for hundreds of years.
That’s how the current scenario came to be:
The Royal Capital of the Dragon Kingdom… set ablaze.
Somehow – through the combined efforts of a Fire Spirit, an assassin, a Mabeast tamer and, the main perpetrator of this incident, the Sin Archbishop of Pride –, fire had spread over the whole capital, relentlessly burning down buildings with ease and taking the lives of people everywhere.
Still, it wasn’t even close to ending, as the fire had been ignited within only minutes. Despite the severity of the situation… something can be done to stop this, right? There were many individuals capable of this, capable of that, it was unfathomable to think this was the end, no matter how much the fire resisted.
Even so, the fire continued to burn and nothing was being done to stop it…
Many believed this was the end.
( Optional Background Music: https://youtu.be/JOfYL1LK_-M?si=JKlCVRhsBeWs0JVg )
That was until —
— A mighty roar sounded out from amidst the fires, silencing the panic of all who heard it, effectively dispelling the tragic atmosphere. It wasn’t a majestic noise, as some would come to expect from vibrant fairytales, nor was it gentle sounding; it could be easily compared to the roar of a species that were hardly seen nowadays by the whole world of Laguna, if not for the unusual hoarseness coating its voice.
This sound wasn’t the main reason for calming down so many citizens however, as its true magic lied on the effects its source brought down on the whole capital: the fires that once burned bright the center of Lugunica were extinguished by a type of mana so incredibly potent that it healed many of the severe burns and other injuries the still-alive people suffered from the city-wide arson, bringing a sudden sense of peace and order from the chaos the capital had succumbed to.
A similar event had taken hold forty years ago in the Commercial City of Picoutatte, one of the Dragon Kingdom’s Great Cities, when the Holy Dragon arrived just in time to save the city from Valgren, the Black Dragon summoned and manipulated by another Pride.
This could only mean one thing…
Has the Divine Dragon once again acted in accordance with the covenant?
The answer was, yes and no.
Basically, no. You see…
Many hundreds of years ago, in the time of Witches, Volcanica had been present to witness the construction of its own statue, built under an incredulous foundation; the Holy Dragon had lost a bet with its friends Farsale and Flugel. Not many years after that, the statues of both Heavenly Sword and the Great Sage were erected to stand together after the trio successfully stopped the Witch of Envy’s vicious destruction of the world, bringing as much fascination to the public as embarrassment to Flugel, an eye roll from Reid and smugness from Volcanica.
Shortly before the Divine Dragon left for a centuries-long stay in the Pleiades Watchtower, it had bestowed upon its own statue a part of itself and the divine mana they carried.
Volcanica was always of the opinion that its friends deserved a peaceful rest from the burdens they endured during their journey – which is why their statues remain unmoving to this day –, and yet Volcanica did not give itself the same treatment, as they still had a duty to fulfill…
So, as it was now, Volcanica itself was unable to act unless a Dragon Maiden was successfully chosen to reconstruct the covenant with the Holy Dragon. In its stead, however, its stand-in would be there to fill its role.
That is precisely the reason why, upon witnessing– or sensing the first-hand destruction of the capital, the statue of the Divine Dragon, whose level of detail was so astounding as to match its original counterpart in all but its dull gray color, had promptly burst to life, tearing out its feet from the ground it was built. Its very essence faintly sparked and then fully shone outwards: golden-coloured eyes made of pure mana breaking through its previously stony ones – and zeroing in on the culprits of this incident with pinpoint accuracy.
So long as it was under the statue’s watch, the Royal Capital would NOT fall.