CHAPTER 475: CHAPTER 280: REGRETFUL REMORSE

"Going home?" Lizrite was startled by the question and didn’t react at first.

Almost half a century had passed, and she had long since considered the Red Dragon encampment in Katjana her home.

After Katjana had fallen, wherever David was, that was her home.

In her memory, her relationship with David perhaps resembled that of siblings who had grown up in the same nest.

Even if there were occasional fond feelings, they would quickly be ruined by David’s various ’bastardly behaviors,’ until she inexplicably had Octavia...

Uh... for the most part, she still lacked the awareness of being a mother.

Seeing David’s expression so grave and serious, Lizrite finally realized he meant her original home.

Fragments of memories, long sealed and forgotten, emerged like dust swirling in an undercurrent.

Perhaps it was because the days she had lived through these years were too smooth and wonderful that the memories now returning were even clearer than those of her youth:

The slumbering, giant beast-like adult Red Dragon mother atop the distant Ashen Mountains.

Although her mother was no different from most Red Dragons—filled with Pride, brutal, and irritable—she would at least bring back prey caught along the way when she went out to feed, and sometimes even play with them with her tail during her leisure time.

Even so, Lizrite was already very content. Such luck and stability were already very rare among Red Dragons.

So, most of these childhood memories were filled with warmth.

This lasted until one day, when her mother, returning from a rampage down the mountain, brought back a smooth-talking Bard. Swayed by his deceptive words, she made a trip out of the nest and returned with a Magical Secret Treasure, burying herself deep within the lair.

From then on, they received less and less food from their mother, who became increasingly reclusive, irritable, and suspicious.

Fortunately, by that time, they were nearly juvenile and had already begun to hunt cooperatively. The Volcano Worms attracted by their mother’s majestic Mana Energy could fill most of their dietary needs.

Later, whether for the same reason or not, when they had grown to juvenility, their mother still didn’t drive them out of the nest, which at one time made her feel fortunate.

At least in their mother’s vast territory, they were not easily threatened by natural enemies, such as large Predators like Griffins, other young Chromatic Dragons living independently in the wild, or the Highland Barbarians who specifically bullied those like them, unprotected by their mother.

This continued until that day.

"Why don’t we steal that Magical Secret Treasure while Mother is out hunting?" her brother suggested.

Perhaps, this way they could regain Mother’s love and food.

The young Red Dragonlings naively thought so.

Only Lizrite, the most timid of them then, refused, fearing their mother’s might.

She had thought that would stop her brothers’ foolish impulsiveness.

But when she returned to the lair, grimacing as she carried a porcupine bristling with sharp quills in her mouth, she saw a bloody scene, with blood everywhere.

She had thought her mother would be furious, perhaps even drive them out of the nest.

But even to this day, she still couldn’t believe that her mother would actually kill them, brutally slaying her own children with her own claws.

If she hadn’t gone out to hunt that day, if her temper hadn’t flared up over a porcupine, if she hadn’t fled immediately upon witnessing the scene, if her mother hadn’t seemed somewhat delirious... perhaps she would have died long ago.

Died on that day fifty-four years ago when the snow fell.

Even though much time had passed and she realized she could now calmly face these dark and bloody memories, Lizrite still couldn’t feel any happiness at all.

"That place... it’s no longer my home," she said. "Are you looking for my mother for some reason? Her temper isn’t exactly great."

Instinctively, she didn’t want David to meet her ’brutal and ugly’ mother.

"I suspect your mother may have come into contact with an ancient Elven artifact, the Dragon Mad Lock..." David revealed his suspicions.

"Dragon Mad... Lock?" Lizrite had never considered this inconceivable line of thought before.

After all, in the memory of most dragons, the Dragon Mad Lock was closely linked with The Slaying King Star and arrived periodically with its cycles.

And that was on the distant Ferren Continent in Toriel.

But the draconic heritage memory was right there. Now that David had brought it up, Lizrite’s originally calm eyes grew wider and wider; the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

It was just that their effects differed: one was fierce and overpowering, the other insidious and enduring.

Yes, even if Mother was filled with Wrath, she wouldn’t tear her own children to pieces...

"AHHH!!! Damn it! Damnable High Elves!"

At this thought, Lizrite despairingly clasped her claws to her head and rolled on the ground, large teardrops cascading down, filled with genuine fury and sorrow for her troubled childhood and lost siblings.

The sight moved Dragon Dad to sigh, while Alicia looked on with eyes full of pity.

Only David, ever unperturbed, patted Lizrite’s rump with his tail, then gave it a light flick before saying, "Hey, so, Miss Lizrite, will you fly with me to verify this guess? If it’s true, we—at least—may be able to save your mother."

And at the same time, dismantle this unstable bomb. If The Slaying King Star were to descend and trigger its resonance effect, that would be a terrible, unearned disaster.

"I don’t care if she dies!!!" Lizrite roared insincerely.

"Then forget it," David said, shaking his tail and taking the opening she’d given him.

Furious, Lizrite immediately sprang to her feet, glaring resentfully at an indifferent David. She felt she most likely couldn’t count on him to coax her.

"I’ll go! I’ll go, alright?!"

"Then let’s not delay. Lead the way, Miss Lizrite." David lifted his tail and pointed outside.

"Hmph!" Lizrite, still upset, dashed off. Who else but herself to blame for choosing a Red Dragon with a heart of steel as a mate?

Upon hearing that David, having just returned to Tokamak Fortress, was ready to leave again, Attilicia started to worry.

"Isn’t it a bit rash to go to Katjana now?"

After all, that place was currently occupied by the High Elves.

"Not us. Just me and Lizrite will go alone."

"Ah?" Attilicia was instantly stunned. They had almost always acted together as father and son. Is he finding me a burden again?

David, however, just rolled his eyes at Dragon Dad. "Ah, what? Haven’t you considered, if that thing really is the Dragon Mad Lock, could you withstand it? I don’t want to end up having a roaring, snarling fight with you. That’s why, even with Lizrite, I only intend for her to show the way."

Having once withstood The Slaying King Star himself, he naturally had no fear of a weakened component of the Dragon Mad Lock, but the other dragons might not be so lucky.

Seeing Dragon Dad’s worried face, David added, "You don’t need to worry too much about the High Elves. This should be an accident. Even the Elves of Dewensen might not be fully aware of its existence; otherwise, such a weapon wouldn’t have been left out in the open until now."

"Besides, Dad," David continued, "don’t forget Star Singer Aria needs you to personally guard her. The electromagnetic turbulence algorithm requires you to remain and continue optimizing it. And the fortress needs you to coax the Blue Dragons into keeping it operational at all times. If I can’t handle Lizrite’s mother or have the misfortune of running into those Elves, I’ll need all that ready. So, you staying at the fortress is actually a bigger help to me."

Hearing David’s explanation, Attilicia found it much more acceptable. Thinking it over, it seemed to make sense. He immediately nodded.

"Be careful, and stay in touch."

David flicked his tail to show he understood.

He quickly followed Lizrite’s scent. Not far along, he turned to look at Alicia, who was following him.

Before he could speak, Alicia proactively lifted a paw, dangling the sparkling Sapphire necklace around her neck—a gem as brilliant as a dragon’s eye—and said, "It’s an heirloom passed down by my ancestors. It helped one of them endure the Dragon Rage during the Dragonfall War. So, I think I should still be of some help. At least, I won’t slow you down, right?"

What a nice piece. Tsk, truly a wealthy and beautiful princess from Dragon Island.

David immediately curled his tail, beckoning Alicia to follow.

Outside the fortress, Lizrite had finally calmed her tumultuous emotions. She had initially hoped for a journey exclusively for her and David, just the two of them—perhaps even a passionate encounter or two along the way to soothe their bodies and souls.

But just as she heard footsteps approaching and turned with a beaming smile, ready to say something, she saw David emerging with Princess Alicia of the Silver Dragons. They looked like a perfectly matched pair of dragons...

"..." Lizrite, suddenly as gloomy as a Paru caught in a storm, dashed off in a huff.

She should never have coveted that suspicious piece of meat in the snowfield!