The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL] Chapter 427: Another Stopgap

Well, if they’d been in her position, then perhaps they would’ve considered doing the very same thing.

Because how exactly was she supposed to turn away from the solution to all her problems when it was already so close she could practically taste it?

By then, her draconic half had become nothing more than a constant source of unimaginable pain, something that felt almost insulting considering she’d never been someone who particularly cared for power in the first place. Personal strength had never been her goal.

It had always been her beloved. Being with him was all she really wanted.

So when she realized the map couldn’t simply be uprooted from the vault because it required a continuous source of mana to remain intact, she barely gave it a second thought before offering up her own body as its new host.

Not that she truly had another choice.

With so little time remaining, it was pretty much the only path left to her.

Sure enough, that primordial dragon had likely anticipated someone attempting exactly this.

Rhazira still remembered laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Because somehow...

The unfortunate fool the ancient one had been guarding for ended up being her.

Yet at the same time, like some deranged lunatic, the laughter spilling from her lips was accompanied by tears that refused to stop falling as she imagined what accepting that burden would truly entail.

It wouldn’t simply hurt.

It would be a purge.

One that would strip away everything she’d ever been.

Even so...

If enduring that agony meant she would one day see him again, then what was a little more pain after everything she’d already lost?

So, on that day, accompanied only by screams that no one else would ever hear...

She abandoned her name.

Her identity.

And whatever remained of her original body.

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For the longest time afterward, the bruised, battered, and barely recognizable halfling wandered the world one agonizing step at a time, painstakingly gathering everything she needed to build a far better body for the one she’d refused to lose. There were moments that almost resembled peace, moments when she could pretend their hardships would soon be over, but she never forgot the promise she’d made herself.

The day they returned together...

Would be the day the mighty dragons finally fell.

After all, wasn’t it only fair?

They were merely repaying those creatures for trying to destroy the beautiful future they’d once dreamed of sharing.

Now, for the most part, she had eventually gotten what she’d wanted.

They really reunited, making it back into each other’s arms after a very, very long time.

And for a time, she’d honestly believed that reunion would last forever.

So whenever someone questioned the path they’d chosen or dared stand between them, she’d crush the opposition without a second thought before inevitably finding herself reliving the day they saw each other again.

Sure, she no longer possessed the face he’d first fallen in love with, nor the body he’d once held so dearly, but surely none of that mattered after everything she’d done for him—for them. Moreover, there’d never been another by her side throughout those countless years, only the endless search for the perfect vessel and the unwavering determination to piece him back together.

Therefore, she was certain she deserved him, deserved the relationship they would once again have—

If not for unexpected problems arising.

See, it wasn’t all dragons... but somehow, always a dragon.

Like unwavering pests, those wretched creatures continued to plague their lives no matter how many years passed. Yet even more infuriating than the weaker, complacent dragons of that era was the primordial dragon himself. The old bastard had somehow remained a thorn in her side even after death, stubbornly ensuring that no one except the favorites he’d personally acknowledged could ever truly benefit from the gifts he’d left behind.

Oh, how she despised him then and even now.

For the first crack, the first failed attempt, and the first moment her beloved suddenly roared in agony as though something inside him had begun burning from within—

Those memories remained just as vivid as the day her father first struck her.

Because, in that instant, it felt as though every nightmare she’d fought so desperately to leave behind had finally caught up with them.

From that day onward, she exhausted herself searching for answers, desperately trying one solution after another, only to discover that every breakthrough was merely another stopgap. At best, she could push him two steps forward before yet another setback dragged them back again, forcing her to begin the search all over once more.

But in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t just his beloved who was crumbling, for whatever was left of her morality crumbled with every new setback they encountered.

Rhazira, now simply known as the Wyvern Queen to the subjects she’d painstakingly stitched together, knew that in truth, their enemy had simply been the dragons.

Mainly just the dragons.

Not the Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, or Merfolk.

Certainly not the Treants, the Fairies, or the scattered beastkin.

Sure, they’d ultimately become part of the unforeseen casualties because they continued to resist, but even then, it had never been personal. In Rhazira’s mind, they were simply dragons.

But just when she thought they’d squash those giant bugs and could instead rule all those who weren’t even worthy enough to be called enemies, those sanctimonious martyrs just suddenly decided to bring her mate down with them, eventually forcing the halfling to eventually turn her hatred toward everyone else by association.

Those black dragons. It was really their fault.

Now the Wyvern Queen, outside of her disdain for what they were, would have to give it to the black dragon clan for similarly putting themselves on the line.

She hated them, yes, definitely, but also recognized how out of everyone who wanted them gone, only that clan had truly volunteered for their cause.

And not just one, two, or a handful of dragons they considered expendable, like their vassals, but the entire black dragon clan themselves, even letting go of all their people in what had to be their last ditch solution.

Unfortunately, as noble as their cause was for the rest of Eryndra, for her, it meant the endangerment of her beloved.

And she’d gone nuts after realizing what they’d actually done. Everything she’d worked hard for, and everything they could’ve been, just ending up buried with no clear way forward.

Was she really slated to lead an unhappy life?

Definitely not, right? But if so, how come it was always just them suffering?

Therefore, could someone really fault her for how she reacted when she caught wind of how the future heir to the dragon clan found his fated mate that early?

How come he could get such a start in life and she couldn’t, when all the golden dragons had to sacrifice were a few of their great ancestors?

If that was life’s version of a joke, then the Wyvern Queen found it all too vexing.

So she made a little visit, and in the process even took the remaining members of the white dragon clan in one fell swoop.

It was rather enjoyable, and while Rhazira from the past wouldn’t have rejoiced in memorizing the terrorized face of that youngling, the battered Queen of today surely did.

Then again, that visit hadn’t been for naught. It was also there that she learned a few crucial things and, more importantly, confirmed the existence of someone just as like-minded as herself, someone who’d even gone so far as to offer another dragon’s heart.

It had been a truly promising encounter.

And from that day onward, they pillaged.

More blood was shed, then even more through the passing years, all in pursuit of the most promising plan they’d conceived since Rhazira pieced together the primordial dragon’s body.

Finally, things were looking up once again.

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But now, someone tell her why she was back in that poor excuse of a crypt having to look for a gift because the most bloodthirsty plan they’d ever worked on failed her once again.

The entire crypt trembled violently beneath the force of her outburst.

The wyverns searching nearby immediately flinched before lowering their heads, silently waiting for their Queen’s next command.

Realizing she’d momentarily lost control of herself, Rhazira slowly drew a deep breath before bellowing,

"Continue your search! Report any and all anomalies!"

As her subordinates scattered once more, the Wyvern Queen turned back toward the ancient ruins herself.

This had better work.

Because short of the primordial dragon somehow deciding to reincarnate...

She honestly couldn’t think of a single path she had left.