Episode19(S1-14)：INSIDE THE JAIL
The two then spend a few moments in silence. Quon, leaning against the wall and crouching, dozes off, and Alpina, although not sleeping either, turns over with her arms crossed and closes her eyes. Although it was in a prison cell, Quon felt a sense of peace that was not much different from a peaceful time. He had no idea that there was such a sense of security in having the absolute strong man called Alpina by his side.
However, that restful time of peace soon came to an end. It was getting closer and closer as the sound of shoes began to echo from the back of the long corridor leading to the prison. Quon woke up and looked up to stare at the other side of the bars.
He guesses that it is probably a child, judging from the pitch and spacing of the sounds, and Alpina opens one eye and looks down the passageway with her golden magical eyes. Recognizing the color of the soul she gets from it, a faint smile peeks on her face.
It was Nana who peeked out from the end of the passage. She was holding a bag in her hand and the color of fatigue was on her face. She was breathing slightly and her hair was disheveled, but she did not appear to be badly injured, and Quon was relieved.
Seeing her condition, Quon rises to his feet and Alpina smiles. They walk up to the bars together and lock eyes with her.
“I knew it was you, Nana.”
“How did you get here?”
Their attitude of concern and interest shows only the color of kindness. Nana also responds to them with a smile and as much energy as she can muster.
“Yes, sir! I can't just stand by while the two of you are being held captive.”
Oh," said Nana, inserting a bag in her hand through a gap in the grate, and Quon accepts it.
“Meals. Lord Alpina probably doesn't need it, but I have prepared it for both of you.”
“Sorry to bother. Can Alpina eat ......?”
“Yes. Because I don't have to eat, but that doesn't mean I can't.”
So," Quon asked as he put the food in his mouth. It might be considered bad manners, but it was nothing to be concerned about now. The Humans, The Dragonute, and The Devil have different cultures and civilizations, so trivial manners don't mean much in this case.
“What happened to you after we were sent here?”
“The meeting broke up soon after that and no further discussion took place. My father still refuses to listen to me, claiming that I am brainwashed by The Devil.”
Quon was relieved to hear that there was no psychological trauma, judging from the way she laughed, "I have a contract, though. But even so, he could not be happy because not everything had been resolved.
“But it seems that I'm not liked by that leader very much.”
“You did something against The Dragon a long time ago, didn't you?”
“No way. The only Dragon I have ever had to contend with is Zirnia. Other than that, I've had a relatively cordial relationship with all of them.”
“My ancestors, ......”
Yes," Alpina laughs. Her eyes were fragile, as if she were looking at something nostalgic, and attributed to the special emotion she felt for her former friend.
“I apologize for what my father said earlier. I don't think he meant to say that. He lives his life with the greatest pride in the fact that he is of Lord The Imperial Dragon's blood. And I, too, was unaware of the relationship between Lord Alpina and His Imperial Majesty Zirnia. ......”
“Never mind. It is an undeniable fact that your family has the blood of Zirnia in its veins. The color of your soul is very similar to his.”
That is why, Alpina emphasizes her golden magical eyes. No matter how many times she checked, her soul was almost identical to that of Zirnia, and the more abhorrent she was, the more she emphasized the fact that she was of Zirnia's lineage in a very special way.
“I simply could not allow him to besmirch the name of my friend. He was The Imperial Dragon, in charge of all The Dragons. There will never be another being with as much spirit as he had. In fact, he and I were born in the same time period, and although we constantly crossed swords, I have never been able to defeat him.”
...... How long have you been alive, this The Devil?
She may be The Devil, but on the outside, she is similar The Human. Quon, who is afraid to ask her age, asks her another question.
“Did you have an advantage over him in terms of compatibility?”
“Yes. It was always a draw with him. But we couldn't afford to fight for the last 1,000 years or so.”
Alpina looked up at the moonlit night as if reminiscing about those days. Her melancholy countenance showed no sign of her usual violent and arrogant demeanor, but rather a full and strong expression of the daintiness of a young girl of her age.
“Afford ......?”
“Something about 10,000 years ago, you said before. What the hell happened?”
Well," sighs Alpina. Worried about the discrepancy in perception between The Sons of God and The Human Child, she recounts the time as if to revise the history of creation.
“At that time, The Angels and The Devils were always at war. The Dragon was then involved in a large-scale war called The God-Dragon War.”
“This is very different from the mythology I know. If I recall correctly, the myth that permeates The Human society is that God led an army of The Angels to stop The Devil from releasing monsters to invade The Earthly Realm, or something like that. What about The Dragonute?”
“It's exactly the same on our end.”
I see," Alpina laughed. Her attitude, as if she understood the cause of the difference between her perception and theirs, was a look of sadness, somewhat like disappointment.
“No wonder you or The Dragonute were so distrustful of me when we first met. You are the only one, Nana, who talked directly with me and did not show any quizzical attitude.”
“I was desperate at the time. And for the sake of my brother, I have no room to choose any means.”
“Phew, that's what brotherhood is all about, isn't it?”
By the way," Nana turns the conversation around. She opens dragonic eyes, which shimmer in the flame, and looks around the entire Cars Amra Forest. However, she asks Alpina about the whereabouts of her brother's soul, which she cannot find no matter how hard she looks into dragonic eyes.
“Where was my brother kidnapped?”
“It's a short distance west of here. Does anything there ring a bell?”
From here to the west .......
Alpina's question makes Nana think for a moment. Then she finds the answer she is looking for and opens her mouth blindingly.
“I believe there is an old ruin at ......? But that one remains totally unknown when it was built and what it was used for. What in the world does that have to do with anything?”
“I knew it was still there. The ruins ...... are properly remains, but it is a fortress built about 10,000,000 years ago to guard the gateway between The Magical Realm and The Earthly Realm.”
“Gateway? You didn't come out of that vortex-like thing when you met me, as I recall?”
Quon asks, thinking back to the incident at Ras Shamra. He unconsciously frowns, because it was still an unpleasant incident, though not as unpleasant as the one in Masomra.
“It is true that using that, it is possible to go back and forth between The Magical Realm and The Earthly Realm at each individual's own discretion, but many of them said it would be too much trouble to do that every time. Besides, as I mentioned earlier, The Angels and The Devils were always at war. They wanted a place like a base to prepare for that.”
“But why would The Angel take my brother there? Wouldn't it be normal, then, to take him to a place that would connect The Heavenly Realm with The Earthly Realm?”
“I don't know about that. To begin with, I don't even know if The Angels had a gate connecting The Earthly Realm and The Heavenly Realm as we do. However, I am sure that the disappearance of the magical power of the Scuderia, which managed the magical gates of Cars Amra, has something to do with this.”
“Speaking of Scuderia, was The Devil as old as you are?”
“Ah. She, like me, is one of the oldest born in the Age of Creation. Not only The Devil, but all The Sons of God have in common that the absolute amount of power such as magical power, holy power, and dragonic vein is generally proportional to the amount of time they have lived. Although there may be a slight reversal depending on individual skills and training, this is basically irreversible. In other words, Scuderia is one of the most powerful of all The Sons of God, possessing power equal to mine. If something has happened to her, it must mean that something that urgent is stirring.”