The dragon's harem

As the Queen of this empire, Aella wasn’t willing to risk the lives of the people anymore. This Hydra was a threat to everyone, and if not for Arad stacking his barriers over those of Merlin, the heat from its launch would’ve burned the walls.

“Zephyr, we’re doing it again.” The moment Aella spoke, Zephyr gasped with a grin on her face. “Really?” She flew up, circled around her head, and then threw a glance at the Hydra. “Let’s go! The crown is ready.”

The Hydra flew toward Aella with its flame breath like a launching missile, slowly coming up to speed as its malice and rage overflowed from its radiant red eyes. This was clearly no easy feat for the Hydra; it was straining its entire body to achieve, and the only thing that kept it going was its insatiable anger against Aella, who tore it apart.

“Is it about to end?” Alcott asked, and Arad looked at him with a surprised face. “You can tell?”

“Of course. Anyone smart would’ve already ran away from Aella now.” He leaned back. “Let’s see what Zephyr’s power could do.”

Aella slowly lifted her hands and brought them together as Zephyr stood on her head, glaring down at the Hydra with burning green eyes.

“Lizard! You dare challenge my Herald? Very well, challenge her as much as you want!” She spun, tracing a circle on Aella’s scalp with her foot, and from that circle, wind magic gathered, compressed, and turned into a radiant emerald crown.

As the cold wind started blowing, clouds gathered, and Zephyr’s magic rapidly engulfed the entire area. Aella’s body flashed green, and soon, her hair turned into a burning mass of wind magic, fairy wings grew on her back, and her eyes shifted to look like radiant jewels of spirit magic.

Zephyr is the Queen of the Spirits, and now, she has granted that crown to Aella temporarily, giving her near full control of her wind. While Aella herself can’t match Zephyr’s power, control, or mastery over spirit magic, she still could draw far more power than her normal magic.

[Elemental Expansion: Spirit Storm]

A howling tornado spawned around Aella and consumed the entire Hydra. From the ground, it looked like a sphere of violent wind that was over three hundred meters wide, large enough to cast a shadow over the entire capital.

Elemental expansions are just that, expanded elemental energy of the user, and when that energy changes, so does the expansion. Right now, Aella’s elemental expansion carries the properties of Zephyr’s magic, so the effects have changed.

Just like before, the wind arrows, slashes, and shockwaves remained, dealing indescribable damage to the Hydra’s body, but on top of that, Zephyr’s authority was taking hold.

The Hydra’s own flames surged and were fueled by Zephyr’s wind, turning from titanic flame jets into a firestorm that fused with Aella’s expansion, turning it from a tornado into a flame tornado. She was now cutting, skewering, tenderizing, and cooking the Hydra alive.

Only this would’ve been enough, but Aella’s expansion still held far more power, and soon, Zephyr’s status as the Queen of the Spirit Queens became apparent.

The violent and flaming winds of the expansion became stronger, and soon, they were picking up stones from the ground and using them to further grind the Hydra down. The flame even melted those stones and started washing the Hydra’s regenerating body with boiling lava.

As the Hydra was stuck in that hell, the violent winds pulled in the clouds from afar and squeezed them into the tornado, turning them black and forcing both the rain and lightning out of them, simultaneously steaming and electrocuting the Hydra.

And just when the Hydra thought it couldn’t get worse, the true horror started. Zephyr’s authority started solidifying the air and preventing the Hydra from breathing, going as far as to reach into the very air inside its blood and ripping it out of its veins.

If not for the loud wind, the people of the capital could’ve heard the Hydra’s death throes shaking the sky like thunder. All they could see was a massive ball of violent elemental energy, and Aella flying right outside it with spirit wings and a crown.

While this version of Aella’s elemental expansion was more taxing, it was also easier to manage since Zephyr was the one shouldering the burden of casting and maintaining it. Even if the Hydra could regenerate through that damage, it would be impossible to outlast Zephyr in a war of attrition, and so, after a minute, the expansion faded as the Hydra was dead.

All that remained was a mass of charred bones.

Aella slowly flew down and landed on the wall, still in her spirit form. The guards who were close backed away, unable to avert their eyes from her massive and glowing green wings, her emerald crown, and burning wind hair.

“HOO! Wind down a bit.” Alcott, who was there approached. “This much magic is too much for the regular people to endure. Look, even the seasoned guards are terrified to the bones.”

“She is slowly turning it down. Don’t rush her.” Zephyr flew out of her hair, and landed on Alcott’s head. “Where is Arad? Isn’t he around?”

Alcott pointed outside the city, “You say that, but that elemental expansion hurt Loci a bit, and it scared many travelers, so he went to make sure no one was harmed. He’ll be back in a second or two.” As Alcott said that, Arad appeared beside him. “No one was hurt. Loci only got scratched from the Hydra’s flames.”

Aella’s body slowly returned to its normal state as Zephyr’s spirit magic left it. For but a moment, she had gazed upon the height of Zephyr’s power. The reality was clear, even now, the gap between her and Zephyr was as wide as the sky.

No one besides Zephyr and Aella understood what that power meant. The entire atmosphere is Zephyr’s elemental expansion, and thanks to it, all living beings can breathe and live their lives. If she wanted, she could conjure the same chaotic hell Aella brought forth, but make it engulf the entire world instead.

“Are you okay? Using all of that power must’ve put a great strain on your body.” Arad approached Aella, and she looked at him with a smug smile. “Are you worried about me? Didn’t you check on everyone else and leave me as the last one?”

Arad smiled. “Are you trying to put me in a hard spot?” He chuckled. “I know you well, and I know you would be more worried about the innocent travelers and Loci than yourself. I checked on them first so I can alleviate that worry.” He approached and patted her on the shoulder. “You can rest now. You’ve done well.”

She shook her head. “No, I must check on the feast’s kitchen.”