Alexander The Great Mage

"No, of course not." Flamewing chuckled. "Magius would have known immediately if you were. Plus, the Testing Pillar cannot differentiate whose lifespan it measures. It probably was showing you MY dragon lifespan. I was rather confused at first as well, but now it makes perfect sense."

"Really? How long do dragons live?" Alexander asked doubtfully.

"A few hundred years. Maybe a thousand? The long-lived ones like Draturo can probably hit a few thousand years. But that's with Magius's intervention." Flamewing said.

"But the Testing Pillar didn't indicate that I'll live for a couple hundred years. It shot straight up into the clouds, definitely over a hundred meters. Closer to three hundred? Wouldn't that indicate a lifespan of three thousand years?"

"Uhh… That's true. I didn't really pay attention to the height." Flamewing said.

"And if the Testing Pillar is indicating that YOU have a lifespan of several thousand years, wouldn't that mean that… You're a Scion of Paladinos???"

Flamewing remained silent for a moment.

"Maybe… I'm just a very healthy dragon? I could technically live that long… Like Draturo…" Flamewing said uncertainly.

"I don't think the Testing Pillar can take into account the future blessings you'll receive from Magius and display that in the results… You're definitely a Scion of Paladinos!" Alexander exclaimed. "And if you're a Scion of Paladinos, then wouldn't you be able to be a Scion Lord once Magius gives you his blessing??!"

"Wait, wait, let's not jump to conclusions. That's a pretty serious conjecture." Flamewing said hastily.

"It makes perfect sense. That was why Magius was present when you were born. Why your father was so protective, why the dragon clan tried to run away with you, and why your father reacted by killing them all and going to war with that clan, and why you guys won the war! Magius probably had a hand in that as well. And that was also why the enemy attacked as well. The 2nd ranked dragon clan probably tipped them off as a form of revenge."

Alexander stopped right there. Going on would mean drawing the connection between her father's death and Flamewing's special identity.

"It does make sense if you put it that way… Uh... I'm a Scion of Paladinos?" Flamewing tried saying it aloud. "Yeah, it sounds weird. It can't possibly be true. There must be another explanation for all those things you mentioned somehow."

"Just because it's weird, doesn't mean it's not true. We have to look at this rationally, and draw a temporary conclusion based on which outcome is the most probable. And it is really looking like you're a Scion of Paladinos now." Alexander pressed on.

"Right…" Flamewing didn't really know what else to say. Scion of Paladinos? Her??

"If you're a Scion of Paladinos, then this mission to save you and your mother is especially important. I wonder why Magius didn't simply just save you. He could have done it very easily." Alexander wondered out loud.

"Well he did say that with your current power, you wouldn't have any problems dealing with this group of people. And I agree, the power you've shown is incredible. Those Scions who captured me are definitely nowhere close to your power level." Flamewing said. "Don't worry about me being a Scion of Paladinos for the moment. Let's focus on rescuing me, alright?"

"Of course." Alexander smiled.

"Plus, weren't we actually discussing whether or not YOU're a Scion Lord?" Flamewing said.

"Well yeah. But I have totally no idea. I am certainly a Scion of Perses. Lyra confirmed that. And it does feel like I have the blessings of Magius, my body is simply brimming with arcane power. You saw how quickly and powerfully I casted 'White Memory'. But I have no idea if the two powers are merged or not. We definitely need more information about Scion Lords. Do you know anyone who might know?"

"Of course." Flamewing said as-a-matter-of-fact-ly. "My mother would know more."

"Ah yes. So we'll know more once we rescue her."

"Yes. It certainly makes the mission more urgent, doesn't it?"

"Of course."

"So… Let's teleport?"

"No."

"Aw, come on! You just said it's more urgent!" Flamewing complained.

"Which is exactly why I am not teleporting." Alexander said patiently. "I need to conserve my strength and make sure I save you both perfectly. I do not want the fight to be a desperate affair and let those people harm you as their last defiant act."

"Oh. Well, okay then." Flamewing said, perfectly mollified by Alexander's words.

With that, peace and quiet reigned for a while.

But it was not destined to last.

With a massive 3rd Generation Wyvern leading the way, nothing dared to block their way. Well, nothing in the skies anyway.

At around noon, Alexander and Dubaza were seated comfortably on their Wyverns, enjoying the calm and quiet for a while when suddenly, Fluff-fluff stood up.

"Meow!"

The two Wyverns immediately pulled up and began to fly higher, causing Alexander and Dubaza to almost fall off their Wyverns in shock.

"Hey! Why did you do that?" Alexander said crossly to Fluff-fluff.

Fluff-fluff merely yawned and curled up once more on Alexander's head.

Alexander opened his mouth and was about to make another comment about the dangers of doing sudden maneuvers this high up in the sky when he suddenly snapped it shut.

An impossibly large tentacle was shooting up at high speed from the ocean. It was almost ten meters thick, filled with millions of suction cups that were all wiggling at the same time. Slime, pockmarks, algae, corals and all sorts of sea plants growing out of it. The tentacle ended with an extra large suction cup which pulsated with a spine-tingling creepiness. And to top all the disgust and creepy fest off, it was a startling bright yellow in colour, marred with countless blotches of dirty yellow. It was a horrifyingly disgusting yet terrifying sight.

If not for Fluff-fluff's timely intervention, they would have been in deep trouble.

"Watch out! Dodge, Your Majesty!" Dubaza shouted. He swerved sharply to his right and pointed at the unspeakably repulsive yellow tentacle.

CRACK! Instantly, a giant bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and smashed into the tentacle with extraordinary power. The giant spot where the lightning struck immediately charred, and the tentacle stiffened and began to fall  as the paralysis caused by the electrical surge took effect. But shockingly, it only lasted a few short seconds before it began to shoot back up again.

To make things worse, eight more giant tentacles burst out of the ocean surface, streaking with incredible speed towards Dubaza and Alexander. Apparently the lightning bolt did nothing except to piss off the sea monster.

However, a few seconds were more than enough for Alexander. He had been chilled to the bone by the disgusting tentacle, and had immediately gathered his power for a devastating outburst.

Alexander's eyes glowed white for a moment as his spell coalesced into form. A giant spherical ripple suddenly appeared in the space occupied by all 9 tentacles.

SHHHKK.

The middle parts of the tentacles which were caught within the sphere were sliced cleanly off and disappeared from sight.

Putrid purple blood began to spurt out in massive amounts out of the severed giant tentacles. It was absolutely, mind-blowingly revolting.

Grimly, Alexander pointed at the tentacle stumps which were waving around frantically in pain and sending putrid blood everywhere. Cleansing and purifying fire suddenly erupted from the very air itself and burnt the blood into nothingness. The fire also cauterized the stumps and prevented more blood from shooting out.

"What in the nine hells was that?" Dubaza exclaimed as he drew closer to Alexander. "I mean, Very well done, Your Majesty. You never cease to impress."

"It's not over yet." Alexander said softly. "Let's fly higher."

Alexander and Dubaza immediately ascended, past the clouds, until the air thinned.

"We should be safe enough here." Alexander said.

"Meow." Fluff-fluff meowed lazily from atop Alexander's head.

Strangely, Alexander understood her words.

"Definitely not." Fluff-fluff said.

Fluff-fluff pointed somewhere behind them.

"It's coming."

"Go!" Alexander shouted.

The two Wyverns exploded forwards with surprising speed.

GRRREAAHKKKKKKKK!!!!!! An unearthly roar sounded from behind them.

"How BIG is that thing?" Dubaza shouted with incredulity. For them to hear its roar from all the way up there simply meant that it was a MASSIVE monster!

GRRREAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHKKKKKKKK!!!!!!

"Oh my god. That thing can fly??" Alexander said in horror. That final roar had sounded much louder and definitely much, much closer. "Or did it just teleport?!"

"Meow meow." Fluff-fluff said. Which basically meant. "It can do both. Oh look, it's here."

Alexander was about to unleash more of his power when Fluff-fluff patted his head gently. "Let me do it, little boy. This one is way above your pay grade. It's a Universe Grade monster." Fluff-fluff said with a beautiful voice.

"It can talk?" Dubaza's eyes widened in surprise.

"Probably much more eloquently than you, kiddo." Fluff-fluff drawled.

Poof!

Fluff-fluff suddenly turned into a beautiful little girl. Apart from being one of the most beautiful girl Alexander had ever seen, everything else about her was extremely normal. Black hair tied into a cute ponytail, light blue dress with matching sandals, and nothing else. She was as beautiful and common as your next door peasant's daughter.

GRRREAAAAAAAAAA-GRRREAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHKKKKKKKK!!!!!!

Hundreds of giant yellow tentacles burst through the clouds.

Alexander and Dubaza's mouth dropped.