"[Blood Harvest]!" Teodor shouted and ripped the blood from the goblin trying to stab at him. His hand balled up into a fist and he slammed into the monster's head, smashing through the helmet swords had broken upon. Its cry of pain turned into a terror-filled scream when it lost its balance and fell off the wall.

  He tried his best not to note how it sounded so much like those unfortunate wall guards who fell too.

  A hand clasped his shoulder and he whirled about, almost ready to punch whoever just grabbed at him, only to hold himself back at the last second. It was one of the soldiers, eyes looking surely just as wild as his had to be from the adrenaline coursing through their bodies. "My lord, look! Over there, at the edges of the invasion!"

  He turned to look and his eyes widened at what he saw. The monsters, they were...dissolving? Yes, they were! How, this had never happened in the histories of the tides-! He bit back the disbelief in the moment and focused entirely on what to do now. The decay was slow, it would take time to spread. But it was inevitable, starting to reduce the force still clumped outside the wall.

  Meaning that they had to still hold their perilous position. "Keep fighting!" he yelled, unable to muster up enough energy to activate [Rallying Cry]. "We just have to hold out a little longer!"

  Tired cheers of assent greeted him, and the young vampire didn't like it. He understood why- they were cold, exhausted, and injured. A dangerous combination that would break any lesser force by now. But perhaps because they were the proud soldiers of House, they grimly held in spite of the losses.

  Movement below caught his eye and Teodor watched the duke's banner below flutter when the attackers abruptly pushed, perhaps sensing their end had come. It was close- dangerously so. Even in their death throes, they might be able to break through and if they did, all those monsters that still were outside could flood in. Still do significant damage to the city.

  Why was why his father responded ferociously, unyielding even if it would be his end.

  But before Teodor could return to the fight, a roar shattered the din of battle. A mighty one that he recognized and he immediately sucked his breath, preparing to play his part in the lie. "Look! Look to the skies!" the man yelled. "The dragons of the north come!"

  And true to his claim, a dizzying array of dragons burst out from the dark snow clouds and washed over the tide at the wall. Elemental energies cackled and their breaths were unleashed upon the unsuspecting monsters. They passed multiple times, ripping out the host every time they soared above. Even mindless as they were, monsters knew the most powerful beasts of this world- and feared them.

  The decay spread swiftly, and before long, the tide melted away like snow on a warm day.

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  Oh huh.

  Dragons.

  I hadn't expected they'd actually be still around given what I've seen of the world. Goes to show how much I really still don't know about the state of Shin in this era.

  I guess my help was unneeded at the end of the day? I mean, I still did clear a dungeon and get a handy cash shop item for loot, so it was worth it. And it was inordinately satisfying to finally do some adventuring, like being able to eventually relieve yourself after a long gaming session. So all in all, I really didn't mind if it turned out I hadn't saved the day.

  Isabella would've been just glad that people were saved, and that's that.

  But well, I was still curious about things and so continued watching through my bird scout. It was then I noticed a curious detail- there were a whole host of dragons, but they weren't just stomping the tide into the ground so quickly. In fact, they looked like they had to make multiple passes to achieve their goal. Not a single one of them either landed to immediately get stuck in, which I found odd because back in FLOW, dragons did like being able to bodily crush lesser species.

  I also found it weird how I spied variants like earth dragons in the mix, when they should be in total deep hibernation in winter. Fire dragons should be fine, yeah, ice dragons too. But many other should be holed up in a cave somewhere, waiting out the cold. That was one of their weaknesses. Something was off.

  Hang on, now that I watched the final pass, it looked like maybe only one of them was real! A dark dragon, a very young one by how fresh those wings looked even, who scorched an ogre with their breath. I checked and sure enough, that fire dragon actually wasn't burning anything. The monsters reacted like it did though, meaning that something was meddling with their minds. Something powerful.

  Like a spell-

  I almost gasped when my bird scout was suddenly snatched up and suddenly brought into the gaze of a very unamused dragon. Where had they come from?! Then I saw their scales and realized, with a shudder, what was going on. This wasn't just a regular launch-day dragon like what I've seen from that mysterious host.

  She was an illusion dragon, a midgame expansion creature who strength probably averaged in the four hundreds. And whose magic ability was one of the most powerful even among other variants.

  Something that could very easily crush me, like it was doing to my bird scout right now.

  That explained the inconsistency- that wasn't a real dragon host. Maybe only the dark dragon was real among them. Everything else was an illusion woven by my captor to disguise their actions for...some reason. I didn't know why.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Oh, she's speaking to me now.

  "Puppet. Is this all your entertainment?" she hissed in that thought-speech used by dragons and I blinked before blanching. Oh no, did they think-! "I should have known, your kind do so love to toy with this world."

  No, no, no. This was a horrible, horrible misunderstanding. Gods damn it all, why couldn't I speak through my dolls-!

  "This city is under my protection. Stay away." Then she crushed my bird and the string snapped.

  And I screamed.

  "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

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  Duke Gregori tiredly stumbled forward, still covered in quite a bit of blood. Some came from the monsters he used [Blood Harvest] on. Some came from his comrades who died next to him.

  Some of it was his own.

  But he stepped forward, greeting his son with an exhausted, but proud smile. "You did well, Teodor. I am pleased."

  "And full glad I am that you are here to witness it," the young man told, beaming. But the smile faded when he turned to look at what awaited them on the plains beyond the ruined wall. Just the two of them stood there, not even a complement of bodyguards present. "Father. I can handle the talk, you should rest-"

  "I will rest when I can no longer lead House Cordis," Gregori firmly insisted, striding forward. "Allow me to at least hold that honor, until then."

  "...Yes, my lord. I am right behind you."

  The two walked forward, to where the host of dragons awaited. As they drew closer, the illusion faded from their eyes, revealing the truth- only two of them sat there. The rest, a lie that stretched back a century and then some. A bargain, struck by their ancestor and the larger dragon who now looked at the two vampires approaching her.

  Both inclined their heads slightly, but not deeply. "Honored Bedra, we greet and thank you for your aid," began the duke. "Forgive me for not being able to offer food and drink in the name of hospitality at this time, but full glad are we to see our pact upheld."

  "And full glad am I to see the line of House Cordis remains unbroken. I hold still a debt to your ancestor to which today is but repayment," elegantly responded the illusion dragon, talking without speaking "I trust you will continue to uphold our bargain of secrecy."

  "But of course, so long as you are willing to provide the aid needed to save my people."

  "I will come, regardless of the season."

  His son at his side coughed, drawing attention onto him. "Forgive me, honored ally, but I must ask. Were you responsible the decay?"

  "The decay? Ah." The dragon's eyes pressed closed in a blink. "I had thought it you, actually. A magic on your part."

  "It couldn't have been, especially with how it spread so quickly," Teodor pushed, maybe a little aggressively. "But if it hadn't been you, then who? Because it accelerated their defeat, which very well could have the difference between…"

  The duke felt a chill run down his spine, and it wasn't from the cold. The battle, it had been very close to tipping. If it lasted another few minutes, he might not have had the strength to fend off another attack himself. His son could have very well been the only one standing here now, if the mysterious decay hadn't started and the dragons hadn't arrived. Combined the two had saved his life- either of them alone might not have been enough.

  Then Bedra's head abruptly snapped around and glared at the younger dragon besides her. "Stop trying to duck beneath your wings. It's unbecoming."

  "But it's so cold!" the smaller one besides her responded, in a way that reminded Gregori so much of his youngest. "Are we done talking yet? Can we go back now?"

  "Almost. There is one important matter I must raise." Her claw turned to reveal to the two surprised men the crushed wooden bird in its grasp. "I caught this spying upon your battle."

  "A fake bird?" Teodor asked after the initial surprise wore off. "I do beg pardon, but what is that?"

  "Hm, I suppose it is unsurprising you do not know. This is a doll." The illusion dragon then bore her fangs, a sight Gregori hoped never to see again in his days. "A servant of a puppet."

  "Puppets? But aren't they extinct?"

  "Again, I suppose you would not know. And it would not matter." She paused before adding. "But I would be wary. Whenever they have appeared in recent history, it is not in good manner."

  The duke didn't know what that meant, but he took warnings from a dragon very seriously. "We'll tighten our guard and be on the lookout. If we see one, I'll be sure to learn of their intent."

  "That is if they deign to appear. My discovery very well could be enough to see them off- they do not like direct confrontation." Bedra's wings began to spread and flex, a sign that she was preparing to take-off. "If they were to bother you, then inform me. And I will certain bother them back."

  "We'll kick their asses!" agreed the younger dragon energetically, only to be cuffed by the other. "Ow, hey-!"

  "Language, Mord. Language."

  "...Yes, mother," sullenly replied the dark dragon, earning a quirk of the lips from Gregori.

  Truly, a mirror of him and his daughter at times. "Fair winds and safe travels, Bedra and Mord. May it be long before our next meeting."

  "And may you live a good life, should we not meet one another again in your time."

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