Dragon King's Harem Chapter 591. Roots and Dragon V
Dragon King's Harem Chapter 591. Roots and Dragon V
Elowen grunted.
A weak, ugly sound escaped her throat as she tried to move her remaining arm. Her fingers scraped against the shattered stone, leaving thin streaks of green sap and blood. The roots surrounding her twitched once, twice, then fell still.
[Observation Activated]
[Target: Queen Elowen Vireth]
[Condition: Critical]
[Heartwood Core: Destroyed]
[Regeneration: Disabled]
[Life Force: Rapidly Declining]
[Estimated Survival: Extremely Limited]
She was dying.
One movement from Nightmare would finish it.
Honestly, the sword seemed offended that I hadn’t done it already. The dark veins along its blade pulsed impatiently, black-red fire curling around the edge like a hungry beast licking its teeth.
But I lowered it.
Because this wasn’t my death to deliver.
Not this time.
I turned my head. “Sela.”
She looked at me immediately.
“Marissa.”
Marissa lifted her eyes.
I glanced back at Elowen. “She’s all yours.”
Silence.
This silence had weight.
History.
Years of pain that had finally reached the person responsible.
Sela moved first.
Her boots scraped softly over the broken floor as she stepped past me. Her ceremonial outfit was torn at the sleeves, her hair disheveled, and a thin smear of dried blood marked her cheek. She looked exhausted. The tonic Marissa had given her that morning had probably carried her through far more than any reasonable potion should have been expected to handle.
But her eyes?
I had never seen Sela look that angry.
And I had seen her angry plenty of times.
Usually, her anger came with that adorable little frown, crossed arms, and a mouth that could deliver insults with the precision of a royal executioner.
This was different.
Her lips trembled.
Just slightly.
Her eyes were shining.
Not from rage alone.
She looked like she wanted to cry.
And somehow, that hurt more than seeing her furious.
Because I knew what stood behind those eyes.
Her family.
Her childhood friend.
The people who had suffered because of Durharn’s decisions and Elowen’s schemes.
The years she had spent carrying memories that refused to become lighter.
I could destroy a kingdom.
I could kill a monster.
I could burn through an army.
But I couldn’t give Sela back everything she had lost.
That realization settled in my chest like a stone.
Marissa followed her.
And she looked worse.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
There was nothing on her face.
What remained was someone who had apparently run out of emotions to show.
Her gaze stayed fixed on Elowen.
Cold.
Empty.
Almost peaceful.
And that scared me more than Sela’s anger.
Because Marissa wasn’t calm.
She was somewhere beyond anger.
The two women stopped several steps away from the fallen queen.
Sela raised her hand.
Earth mana gathered around her fingers, pulling fragments of stone from the ruined floor. They floated around her wrist, spinning slowly, growing denser as she poured more mana into them.
Marissa opened her palm.
A single flower bloomed above it.
Black petals.
Pale blue veins.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
The kind of flower that made me want to admire it from a very respectable distance.
Elowen lifted her head.
Her eyes moved from Sela to Marissa.
For the first time, I saw something resembling genuine fear cross her face.
At least she still had enough life left to understand who was standing before her.
Behind me, Al said nothing.
A miracle.
The man had spent half the battle rolling around on the floor pretending to be a dying magician, but even he understood this wasn’t the moment for comedy.
Evelina stood beside me, golden healing light fading from her fingertips. Her gaze followed Sela and Marissa with quiet concern.
Seraphel lowered her flame spear.
The Fairy Queen rested both hands on her staff.
Neither spoke.
They might not have known every detail of what Sela and Marissa had endured, but they knew enough.
Enough to understand that this confrontation had begun long before today’s wedding.
Sela’s mana brightened.
Marissa’s flower opened wider.
And then… Something caught Marissa’s ankle.
She froze.
I looked down.
A hand.
Pale.
Trembling.
Covered in blood and withered petals.
Seranaya.
She had dragged herself across the broken floor.
Somehow.
Despite the wound in her chest, despite her ruined mana channels, despite having most of her life force stolen by her own mother, she had managed to reach Marissa.
Her bridal gown trailed behind her in torn, bloodstained layers.
Her brown hair lay tangled across the stone.
The beautiful flowers woven through it had withered.
Her eyes were barely open. Her fingers tightened weakly around Marissa’s ankle.
“Don’t…”
The word barely escaped her lips.
Marissa looked down.
Seranaya swallowed, her entire body trembling with the effort.
“Kill… mother…”
Silence.
Even Elowen stopped moving.
Seranaya raised her head a fraction.
“Don’t… kill… her…”
…
I genuinely had nothing. Not even a tiny insult waiting behind my teeth.
This girl.
This absolute disaster of a woman.
Her mother had stabbed her through the chest.
Drained her life.
Used her like a fucking mana potion.
And she was still begging us to spare her?
I looked at Elowen.
Then back at Seranaya.
That woman had really done a number on her daughter.
Marissa’s expression finally changed.
Just a little.
Her eyes softened.
Her fingers curled inward, and the flower above her palm trembled.
Sela stopped gathering mana too.
Even Seraphel looked away for a moment.
Pity.
The most inconvenient emotion in the world.
I felt it too.
Seranaya was a murderer.
A manipulator.
A woman who had betrayed her husband without hesitation.
But seeing her crawl across a ruined floor to protect the mother who had just tried to consume her?
That was… shit! That was miserable.
I looked at her face again.
There was no calculation left in those eyes.
No royal ambition.
Just a daughter.
Still reaching for someone who had never deserved her loyalty.
Could she change? Maybe.
Could someone help her understand what Elowen had done? Perhaps, if she survived and received help.
But her core was already collapsing.
And I wasn't going to pretend I could repair it while Elowen remained alive, waiting for another opening.
I exhaled through my nose.
Slowly.
Then lifted my hand.
“Ice Lance.”
A single lance formed above my palm.