Kapitel 43: Chapter 43: Truly Mighty
Chapter 43:
"___" - Speech
(___) - Thoughts
(___) - Internal Voice(s)
AN: For the sake of not needlessly burning your eyes, I won't use italics during the conversation between Raon and Tannin, but they are in fact speaking in Draconic tongue.
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Raon's ears perked up as he hopped out of Jin's arms, cautiously approaching Tannin as he sat only a few feet in front of his titanic elder.
"Before I start little one, you should know that one of the reasons I didn't offer you an explanation earlier was because even I am not 100% sure of your history." The hatchling tilted his head as a dissatisfied look appeared on his face. "Just to be clear, you've never met your parents before, correct?"
"I haven't."
The former Dragon King hummed as he continued on. "About four years ago, there was an incident within the plains area of my territory, which is occupied primarily by Red, White, and Earth Dragons." He turned to Jin. "I imagine you're familiar with the concept of Outrage?"
Jin's posture stiffened as the query caused his pupils to contract in surprise. "I am." He replied solemnly.
"What's that?" Raon asked.
"The strongest fueling emotion for a Dragon is rage, and Outrage is an ability that expresses that feeling in the most extreme manner possible. Think of it like a berserk state." Tannin groaned as his face expressed genuine lament. "Entering this state is a result of a Dragon letting their rage completely overtake their mind, causing them to fight whatever their anger is directed at until either it perishes," He took a deep breath. "Or they do."
Jin silently bit down on his lower lip as the dots began to connect, and the look on Raon's face seemed to convey the same sentiment.
"Before you ask, your parents did not enter this state, but rather a Dragon by the name of Klauth did." Tannin clenched his claws together as he recalled the incident.
"Klauth?"
"He was a Red Dragon, and also the former strongest Dragon in his region like Miirym before he perished."
(Accursed species, I really should have wiped more of them out whilst I still had the chance.) Adaloth spat internally with evident venom in her voice, but at the moment Jin had little intention of humoring her.
"What does he have to do with Raon's parents?"
"I'll get to that," He cautioned, clearly treating the subject with utmost care. "Though I still don't know the reason as to why he entered this state, it ended up in him going on a rampage in the plains region that would've guaranteed the deaths of every other Dragon living there had I not arrived in time."
"Would've?" Jin hesitantly questioned with a raised brow.
"Thankfully, two White Dragons courageously decided to step up and hold him back until I could arrive at the scene. However," Tannin inhaled deeply, the wind shooting out of his nostrils forceful enough to cause Jin's blazer to blow in the wind. "I was too late."
An indescribable look of anguish infected the Dragon's usually stoic figure.
"They had held Klauth back long enough for no one else to be affected by his rampage, but they were unable to protect themselves. It was because of them that I was able to put a stop to Klauth before he reached anyone else, their bravery had made up for my incompetence and lack of oversight."
"I'm su—" Tannin shot a warning glare towards Jin before he could finish his sentence.
"If you're even thinking of consoling me don't, it's insulting." Jin was quick to stand down. "Taking the time frame into account, I imagine the little one was probably still an egg at the time."
"Even as an egg, surely you would've been able to sense him?"
"Under normal circumstances yes, but my guess is they didn't want Klauth to even get so much as a whiff of his existence. White Dragons are one of, if not the most talented species when it comes to their magic-aptitude, thus they probably masked him to prevent him from being harmed."
"They managed to hide him even from you?" As Jin said that, he felt as if a strangely prideful smile was about to appear on Tannin's face.
"Do not underestimate what a parent will do to protect their young, when pushed far enough even those weaker than you can still surpass any expectations you ever had of them."
The hybrid took a moment to let Tannin's words sink in.
"After I killed Klauth, I decided it was best to seal off the zone where the battle had occurred."
"Why?"
"So both the White and Red Dragons wouldn't get a chance to smell the blood," Tannin sighed as he closed his eyes. "They had always been at each other's throat, day and night, and seeing a Red Dragon responsible for murdering two White Dragons would've elicited outright war."
"They'd be able to tell that much just based of smell?"
"Of course, it's our most potent sense after all, the tale of Ddraig and Albion don't just apply to those two you know? Actually the rivalry between the two races began way before their time."
"I see."
(You mustn't let the Red's fester, don't make the same mistake of mercy that I did, destroy them before they can cause more anguish.)
(We're not doing this now.) Jin admonished.
(I'm right.)
"When I was born the first thing I smelled was blood in the air." Raon recollected.
"Indeed, the secluded zone was quite sizable since I needed quite a bit of range in order to deceive the smell of the Dragons living there. Obviously this led to me being pestered with an onslaught of questions, but I preferred they remain curious than allow their animosity to fester any further."
If Tannin gave an order to any of the Dragons in his territory it was final, disobeying him was seen as an irredeemable sin by every single Dragon under his care, no matter their species.
The amount of respect they held for the Dragon who had given everything so they could prosper, was insurmountable.
"I decided to personally tend to cleansing any and all traces of a battle having gone down myself, I know if I had a team of others do it they would most likely keep it under wraps if I ordered them to, but I couldn't take any risks. Either that, or maybe it was just a pathetic attempt to make up for my failure." He ended off in a self-deprecating manner.
"Since I was still fairly active in the Rating Games, on top of raising my son and overlooking the rest of the territory the process was extremely lengthy. In the end I spended almost three years cleansing the area before I opened it back up again. The others rarely ever question what I'm doing, so I was able to do so undisturbed."
"Even then, wouldn't they notice that three Dragons had suddenly gone missing?" The full picture still didn't seem clear to Jin, or Raon for that matter.
"Don't be mistaken, the Dragons under my care don't stay in my territory forever. Only the ones who cannot survive without the Dragon Apples fall under that category. Eventually they decide to go out on their own to further their strength, spread their bloodline, or even form territories of their own. It was pretty easy to convince the Red Dragons since I could tell them that Klauth had simply left in order to seek out opponents that could elevate him to the position of Dragon King. But I don't think the White's ever fully bought my excuse." Tannin mused.
The violet-colored Dragon could fairly easily decipher what Jin was thinking.
"I did in fact lie, though it was for their sake, I took no pride in it." Tannin had forced himself to stoop so low as to engage in deceit, no matter the reason, doing so for someone with his level of pride wasn't an easy feat.
But he'd rather be a liar than the reason more blood was spilled any day of the week.
"And in those three years, I inevitably ended up picking up the scent of a young White Dragon." He turned to Raon, who's mind returned to the day a giant claw scooped him out of nowhere and whisked him away. "Since no one had taught him how to hunt, he was in quite terrible shape when I found him. Severely malnourished and energy-deprived."
"I still don't get it, why couldn't you have just given him to the other White Dragons? Surely they could've taken care of him."
"First of all, I'd have to explain to them how a hatchling ended up on their lonesome," Jin meekly scratched the back of his neck as he realized the stupidity of his question. "And second of all, Dragons will never care for a child that is not their own. Regardless of whether they're the same species."
"How come?" He wondered.
"It's just in our genome, they are physically incapable of loving a child that they didn't birth. Yes, I could have ordered them to do so, but I refuse to intrude on their freedom like that, regardless of how unfair it might sound on the little one's behalf. That's why I prefer to allow the strongest of each respective species to decide the paths of their kin. I've only ever gotten involved in the decisions of the Dragon's in my personal residence, and even that only happens every now and then."
(Freedom huh? Sounds like a certain someone.)
"Then why couldn't you just have taken care of him?"
"Take this how you wish, but I simply had too much on my plate. I struggled, and still struggle to find the time to take care of even my own children. There was just no feasible way for me to cater to the little one's needs. Furthermore, love my children as I do, they are nowhere near ready to take care of a child."
Tannin took a moment to pause, allowing Raon to soak in whatever information he could before proceeding.
"Sirzechs is one of the few Devils I trust, and also the closest to my territory so I decided to ask him if he could find some sort of way to have the little one taken care of, which lead to—"
"Grigori." Jin finished, earning a nod from Tannin.
"Indeed." He turned back towards Raon, an undeniable amount of regret welling within his reptilian eyes. "Little one, I can't even begin to express how sorry I am that you had to grow up in such a place. I know Azazel did his best, but Dragon's should always grow up under their parents. It's not in our nature to have another race act as our caretakers. I am not asking for your forgiveness, your anger is more than deserved."
Tannin bowed, his maw nearly touching the rock beneath him as a tear threatened to escape his eye.
The former Dragon King had never done so in his life, but the hatchling before him had more than earned an exception.
"But even so I will say it once more, I am sorry, for everything."
Jin didn't dare intrude, this moment was reserved exclusively for Raon and Tannin alone.
"I forgive you, even if you don't want to be."
"What?" Tannin couldn't help but blurt out, feeling as if his ears had failed him.
Did the hatchling really just say what he thought he said? And so hastily? Jin himself could hardly believe what he was witnessing.
"I said I forgive you."
Tannin blinked repeatedly, unsure of how to respond.
"Why?" It just didn't compute for him.
"It's true I hated every second of that false-home, but that's all over now. The halfling is better, and I feel happier now." He stated bluntly, not even a hint of doubt in his voice.
(Raon…)
"Is that — truly how you feel?" Tannin felt the need to affirm.
"Yes."
"Silver." Tannin turned to Jin.
"Yes?"
"Raise him well."
"I intend to." And with that, it was time for the two of them to move into their new home.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Iguana32
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