It was an arduous battle.
A weeks-long war of attrition.
It began with the White Light of Annihilation erupting underwater, followed by Alaric being swarmed by Water Beasts, forcing a frantic retreat to shore. Then came cautious ambushes, even luring the creatures out of the water to create kill opportunities.
It took Alaric a full week to slay the first Water Beast.
It sounded unglamorous, perhaps even beneath a "White Dragon God"... but Alaric didn't care. He knew it was a fight for survival. And in the end, he was the one grinning, feasting on the beast's flesh ashore.
Then came the second, the third.
With growing experience and refined skills, Alaric's kills quickened... from one every seven days to one every three, then two.
On the final day, he slew three at once.
But not alone... he had a temporary ally, a man who fought the Water Beasts bare in the lake.
…
Kay had been in a foul mood lately.
By rights, such gloom shouldn't plague a "third-rate knight" like him... after all, he was adept at finding fun in town, whether drinking at the tavern or boasting to pretty girls, activities he excelled at and loved.
But lately, he'd lost interest.
"You brat, I'm taking Artoria away for a while. The house is yours to watch!"
"Don't burn it down!"
His gruff father had taken his oddly-acting sister, leaving Kay alone... something unthinkable before.
"Even for knight training, he should've taken me too."
Forgive his boldness.
In Kay's eyes, his aging father was past retirement... strength and reflexes barely above average, only his vast combat experience preserving his dignity.
But against absolute power, such experience meant little.
"Go on, go, all of you."
"Let's see how far you'll go for something so fleeting."
Kay wasn't foolish.
Quite the opposite... he was sharp, with an intuitive knack for piecing things together. Though no one told him the truth, his innate talent let him deduce much:
Like Artoria likely being the illegitimate daughter of some king.
And that she was hiding something in the mountains.
Since Artoria's "secret" made even her, so upright, act sneaky... and she wouldn't return for months…
"Could it be…"
Thinking of the secret that drove his sister to such secrecy, the knight, moments ago lounging bored on his bed, suddenly perked up.
It was like a locked drawer in his sister's room.
Who wouldn't want to peek inside?
"Alright, time to explore the forest!"
A knight of bold ideas and swift action, Kay packed lightly and ventured alone into the forest... dangerous to outsiders, but to him, as familiar as home.
He didn't find Alaric's valley.
This tied to his natural affinity... born with a strong connection to the "water" Element, he followed streams to find his sister's "treasure."
A clever approach.
If Artoria was hiding a living creature, it'd be near water.
... He overlooked the chance she'd tamed a flying beast, nesting on a cliff.
"If it's a hawk or eagle, why hide it so carefully?"
In truth, Kay had guessed his sister wasn't sheltering a forbidden person but a "dangerous" pet, kept in the wilds and fed nightly in secret.
He braced for a "monster."
A fairy? A thunderbird? A unicorn?
He imagined its form, then shook his head. Such rare creatures didn't suit his often-foolish sister.
She'd have a cooler, fiercer "companion."
"If I don't find it, I'll catch one for her... as a gift for becoming king."
With that thought, Kay scoured the mountains for half a month.
He slew many Magical Beasts... fire-breathing boars, wind-blade coyotes, even a band of Saxons straying into the wilds... but not the "cool." "fierce." And "domineering" creature he sought.
On the seventeenth morning, he emerged from the dense forest to a vast lake's edge.
Slightly weary, he shed his shirt, ready to bathe.
But he stumbled upon a thrilling sight he'd never forget:
A strange blue-white creature, like a winged lizard, glided leisurely half a meter above the water.
Beneath, a long black shadow stirred.
"Watch out... "
Kay reached out instinctively to avert disaster.
Too late.
The lurking Water Beast seized its chance, launching a fatal strike at the dragon that had taunted it.
Alaric seemed unprepared, waiting until the beast's long neck broke the surface before "panicking" And flying upward, as if dodging.
"No way."
"No escaping that."
Kay knew these Water Beasts, their predatory prowess unmatched.
Once targeted, their prey was doomed to be shredded by toothy maws.
"Roar... "
The beast surfaced, jaws wide, engulfing the dragon.
Kay thought the creature was done for.
But in the next instant, a white light of destruction burst from Alaric's mouth, piercing the beast's palate and blasting a bowl-sized hole through its head.
"By the stars!"
As the loser's corpse crashed into the water, sending up white waves, the young knight realized what the "flying lizard" circling above truly was.
"A dragon?"
"A baby dragon?"
"Gods… that's insanely cool!"
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