Ophelia and The Dragons

Chapter 23

"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved."

-George Macdonald-

***

Yvanna's P.O.V

Six hundred years. Over six hundred years have passed since the last time I met Lia. My childhood friend, Ophelia Von Wilhelm.

"I miss that girl. She has certainly grown after all these years." I smiled as I recalled the good memories we had with each other.

One thing I didn't understand was why she was so eager to help humans. Even though we went through the same thing, why would she sided with the enemy?

The only reason why I had not left for the trip earlier was because of her. I wanted to meet her again. I showed myself before her several times, waiting for the right moment.

Yes, I wanted to ask her to join me to destroy humanity together. She had learnt offense magic. She had become stronger. She would make a magnificent ally to me.

However, considering what happened, looked like it was no longer possible.

Even after so long, I still couldn't forget the incident that happened six hundred years ago to us, the witches.

My black rose clan specialized in creating attack or offense magic but we were always living in peace.

We did not disturb humans, in fact, we helped humans during war against Azrail several millennium ago.

However, humans have always been an ungrateful species. They forgot what we did for them and decided to eradicate our clan.

I could never forget the look on my parents' eyes when they were facing those humans. My mother hid me in the house basement and I was told to stay hidden in there.

Hours passed, I could still hear the sound of screaming and cries outside.

But it was not the worst part.

Once there were no more sounds, I finally left the basement and the sight before me was beyond horrifying.

I saw both of my parents alongside other villagers laying dead on the ground. There were also corpses of several humans as well, but it was nothing compared to the massacre of my clan members.

I cried out, that my cries almost sounded like a wild animal's howl.

But no one was listening, no one cared.

I buried my parents, but I did not have the strength to do the same to the other villagers, so their corpse just laid there in the open air, eaten by wild animals or rot until there was nothing but their skeleton.

I realized at that moment humans didn't deserve to live. I made it my life purpose to eradicate human the way they massacred my family.

I was just a weak little witch back then who didn't have much power.

For hundreds of years, I cultivated my power and became stronger, but even until now, my power was not enough to completely get rid of humanity.

After hundreds of years seeking for a solution, I finally came up with something. It was a rather extreme option.

Resurrecting Azrail and formed a bond with him.

It was an almost impossible task since he had been sealed in the skeleton mountain. The skeleton mountain was a mix of mountain and hills.

It was filled with all sorts of terrifying creatures and no one who stepped inside had come out alive afterward.

The place was also known as the death hill. Its location was already beyond most people's reach. It was at the end of the world, somewhere in the border of the horizon.

A mystic and horrifying place.

But I had no other choice. Bonding and working together with Azrail was the only way I could completely destroy humanity.

I didn't even care if I would die together with them in the end. I already found the map to the skeleton mountain. I just needed to go there.

As I was packing my belongings for this trip, which wasn't much to begin with since I learnt to not attach myself to the material things of this world, I discovered something that I thought was quite interesting.

A little tingle in my skin that came from a memory of what happened during my meeting with Lia earlier.

There was a boy beside her, someone I didn't pay too much attention toward, but the boy had a different scent around him.

I was certain he wasn't human. He must be a dragon. If he was a dragon, then he must have become her familiar.

I didn't think a witch like her would take in a dragon as a familiar. It was interesting how life worked.

When I stepped outside I saw a giant black snake standing in there and a small smile appeared on my face.

"Draco, you arrived right on time." The giant snake transformed into a man dressed in all black.

He has glowing golden eyes just like he did when he was in his snake form and he knelt before me as I held out my feet for him to kiss.

He leaned in and kissed the tip of my sole as a greeting before standing up.

"My lady, everything is ready. I already checked the surrounding area, we should be safe until we reached the frozen forest." He told me. I nodded and thanked him.

"Draco, before we depart, I need you to understand the consequence of this journey. It would be like nothing we have been through before." My tone became serious.

"This is a matter of life and death. If I don't make it alive from the skeleton mountain, you wouldn't as well. It's not too late for you to leave. I wouldn't be upset even if you do." I reminded him.

However, he quickly shook his head.

"No, my lady. I have pledged my life to you. Have you forgotten what I said before? No matter what, my life is now tied to yours, I don't fear death more than I fear losing you. I will follow you until the end, my lady." He took my hand and kissed the back of it.

"Okay, if that's what you want."

Before me was Draco, my familiar. He was a giant snake who specialized in venom.

Several hundred years were no short time and I didn't want to spend it all alone. So I had been going around trying to obtain familiar for myself.

For us witches, having a familiar would make us stronger.

They could come in different forms but they mostly came in animal form. The difference between a creature suitable to become a familiar and ordinary ones were their magic level.

You see, I've always wanted a dragon, but finding one and making them my familiar was difficult.

I tried to recruit a thunder dragon once, but he refused. So I injured him. He must be dead if no one saved him.

I didn't want a weak familiar. I wanted a strong creature that could help me along the way.

When I almost gave up on looking, I found Draco.

He was the perfect familiar for me and after spending hundreds of years together, he became the only person I could trust in this world.

"Now, you can rest first, I will get you out again before we reached the frozen forest."

He nodded and turned himself into a snake ring tightly wrapped around my ring finger.

The smile disappeared from my face as I focused my attention on the road ahead of me. Everything was becoming real. This was my reality. A journey I had to face forward.