Chapter 15: War of the Dragons (3)
I can’t oppress them.
I can’t persuade them either.
What should I do about those arrogant dragons who think they’re above the sky?
How can I control those who can’t be controlled?
At that moment, a flash of lightning struck my mind.
If they won’t listen to me, why not get those they do listen to to speak on my behalf!
After all, there are children who are perfect for this!
[Erebus. Shamash. Ifrit. Thetis. Sylphid. Sagarmatha. Yggdrasil. Appear before me.]
“Mother?! Did you call us again?!”
“Please stop summoning us like this! I just got pulled away from something else!”
“Uh… I’m good.”
“Sagar and I always have time. You can call us anytime. But what’s up all of a sudden?”
I silently pointed at the red and black dragons.
Seeing the wounded dragons, Ifrit and Erebus’s expressions stiffened.
“So these kids started fighting, and now a few dragons are dead.”
“Uh, mom? The kids might be a bit rowdy, but… maybe it’s not the worst thing for kids to fight a little?”
“What kind of kids fight to the extent of taking each other’s lives? Especially with the dragon birth rate plummeting! Things are already dire, and they’re trying to kill each other over trivial disputes…”
I sighed deeply and said.
“At least I made a rule not to harm the hatchlings. Thanks to that, the newly born dragons could be protected. Without such a rule, those reckless ones would’ve likely killed the hatchlings.”
Which is pretty much how wars start.
“Anyway, since I can’t keep all the kids in line, you’ll have to take responsibility for your own.”
“Pardon? Us? Those troublemakers?!”
“My kids are relatively obedient… but what if other kids start causing issues?”
“Obedient? The black dragons? Those insane ones constantly increasing their numbers?!”
“Right! The black ones being obedient? Not a chance!!! There are so many of them! Recently, among the new hatchlings, only the black ones are in double digits! How unfair is that?!”
“It’s not unfair! It’s just that dragons of other colors aren’t as eager to expand their families.”
Well, to be fair, about half of the hatchlings are black dragons.
“Anyway, since they’re your kids, you should manage them properly. I can’t manage all the kids.”
“Is there really something even Mother can’t handle?”
At Erebus’s remark, I sighed again.
“True. I considered forcibly managing them a few times, but that only led to destruction.”
“De…struction?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Definitely no need to mention rewinding time from the future.
“And… if you don’t manage well, I’m going to give you a penalty. Should’ve done this long ago…”
“What? Us? Suddenly?!”
“Oh my… That’ll be a nightmare for Erebus, who has so many kids, right?”
“Um… My kids are all good.”
“My kids too! They don’t fight unless provoked. Everything should be fine.”
Yggdrasil and Sagarmatha’s kids don’t usually cause problems, so we should be good… I hope.
The biggest issue is still with the blacks and reds… but that’s something I can only leave to those two.
“Mother. If we manage our kids well, instead of punishing us for failing, will we get a reward?”
“Hm? A reward?”
At Erebus’s comment, I was momentarily speechless.
I hadn’t thought of that? Hmm…
Alright!
“For the next 100 years, to the parents of kids who don’t kill other dragons…”
The children all fixed their gazes on me. Their eyes glinted with expectation, like I was about to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Slightly overwhelming.
“Just one thing. I’ll grant anything. As long as it’s within my ability.”
At that, all the kids looked at me as if I had just told them I’d give them ice cream for breakfast.
What? Is that so surprising?
“R…Really?”
“Are you serious, Mother?”
“Yeah! Mom! You can’t just say that carelessly!”
“Mom! You should cherish your body!!!”
“Uh… I disagree…!”
“Oh my… What in the world is going on here!”
Why is the vibe like this? I’m just granting one little request, and it’s like I declared the end of the world?!
“Hmm… So, none of you feel confident about managing your kids? Then, this contest is… my victory♥”
Shamash’s overly confident bragging made all the other kids bristle up in unison.
“That comment! We can’t just let that slide!”
“This is why you’re just a shiny golden dummy!”
“I’m confident in managing my children!”
Uh, well… Do your best, then?
“By the way, the penalty will be confiscating the dragon scales I gave you.”
At my brief addition, the children’s expressions turned stiff.
What. Why. What.
The scales I gave you. I’ll just confiscate them since you’re not doing your job properly.
Is there an issue with that?
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
So, my not-a-bet, hoping the dragons wouldn’t kill each other, somehow turned into…
“Why has it come to this…”
A war where they’re doing nothing but not killing each other.
“Surely! I said not to kill!!!! But why are they considering ideas like plucking out wings! Or severing limbs! Or barely keeping each other alive!!!”
I looked down at the dragons sprawled at my feet, looking like a real mess.
“Especially you black dragons! Erebus!!! Deliberately provoking others into attacks? Using your family like pawns?!!”
I grabbed my pounding head.
A war where lives are spared. A war where countless dragons are attempting to rip each other’s limbs off.
This… was not the outcome I wanted.
What infuriated me most… was that even after rewinding time again and again, it always ended up the same.
No matter how many times I rewound, changed conditions, added bans, and told them to stop fighting, the clever little brats found loopholes in the weak rules to stir up conflict… and it made me feel dizzy.
But to ban everything is just oppression, leading to destruction.
With all their brains, but completely ignoring me. If I knew this was how it would turn out, I’d have turned everything back to zero… no, that’s not it. Right.
Even if I’m mad, there are things that can and can’t be done.
I sighed and healed the dragons rolling at my feet. I could regenerate their bodies entirely, but that would just throw them back into war. It would all just happen again.
Dragons drawing lines based on their scale colors, rejecting one another. Dragons considering only those with the same scale color family, while treating others like they don’t exist.
At this point, I started to wonder if the very existence of dragons was flawed from the beginning.
No, I’m a dragon too… but I’m different from these kids.
So. Let’s endure just a bit longer.
Just a little more. For the determined 100 years.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
In the plains where all dragons, except for the oblivious hatchlings and unhatched eggs, are gathered.
In the plains where all the kids, including Ifrit who lost his body after losing his scales, are congregated.
I softly spoke.
“I set a condition hoping you wouldn’t fight, but you all only had your eyes on eliminating each other, focusing solely on the prizes.”
Throughout the determined period of 100 years, the kids didn’t pause in their war for even a moment.
Not taking lives, that’s all. No, even that got thrown out the window when a red dragon killed a black dragon, which led to Ifrit losing his scales and turning back into flames.
The red dragons, having lost their parent, wandered aimlessly until they were taken under my protection.
“Mother… but…”
“Shut up. Erebus. I didn’t give you permission to speak.”
Erebus. Clever Erebus. Cunning Erebus.
Why waste that clever brain trying to eliminate other kids?
Using your own family, your own kids, as bait or sacrifices to take out other children.
How very sad.
“Did I seem so insignificant to you? Because I’ve always been a kind mother, did you think my words could just be brushed aside?”
The kids remained silent. They grew depending on my kindness, my goodwill, my heart… but they ignored my words, just like they wanted to do whatever they pleased.
“I didn’t want to become a scary, intimidating parent, so I tried to be as gentle as possible, hoping to persuade with words as much as I could.”
In the clearing of all dragons. The healthy ones and those a bit worse for wear, all sorted by scale color, I let out a small sigh.
Even in this moment of fury, they still sort each other by scale color.
“Now, my patience has reached its breaking point. I’ve been tolerant for so long, and after rewinding time dozens, hundreds of times, seeing your repeated foolishness… I’m absolutely fed up.”
So. I’ll show you some real fear.
I’ll show you that you should have been more afraid of a being far more powerful than hating and fighting each other.
Quietly, I used a spell I hadn’t wanted to employ.
Summoning a meteor quietly orbiting in space, then casting it down to the world with magic.
Meteor. Meteorite fall.
It was the moment the cosmic strike that could obliterate the world broke through the clouds and revealed its presence to the world.
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