Reincarnated As A Dragon With A Godly Inheritance
Chapter 45: Who are you

Chapter 45: Who are you

Vexa swatted the thorns away with ease as she continued advancing toward the Refiner cloaked in vines.

"You should know your technique better, Thandor. Your Venomous Verdancy works best as a surprise, when you’re slipping poison into a target undetected."

Thandor edged back, his eyes calculating. "So you have gathered information about me. But one of my roles on this raid was to kill His Lordship with that poison... but I guess you’ll be doing it for me instead."

"You’d have died if you tried it. I’m the only one allowed to kill him," Vexa said coolly.

"And why would you care if you’re going to kill him anyway?" Thandor asked, growing frustrated. He was drifting closer to the black gate now.

"My orders were to watch him... and only make a move if he stepped out of line."

"Then why not kill him from the beginning? Before he ever stepped foot in Solmere?" Eldric’s voice sharpened. If she’d don’t her job earlier, they wouldn’t be trapped in some warped zone with a closing portal.

Something clicked in Thandor’s mind. He raised his hand and a wall of vines sprang up, cutting off the exit. The barrier blocked Taria and Kaedros from reaching the portal.

"That should hold them back," he muttered.

"I needed him to pursue the advancing nonsense," Vexa said with a shrug. "It gave me a reason to strike."

Thandor shook his head. If he ever escaped this, the Celestial Order would want answers. "Who is your master?"

Vexa smiled. "Wouldn’t you like to know?"

"I would," Thandor said flatly.

"You’re going to die anyway, so there’s no harm." She rested her sword beside her hip. "My master is His Royal Highness, the Second Prince."

Rauk stiffened where he stood.

Kaedros narrowed his eyes. What the fuck? Things just ended up not making more sense.

A Prince? Why would a royal heir go to such lengths to kill a noble in some remote ruin? It didn’t make sense.

Thandor’s mouth dropped. "We heard rumors, but... for it to be true?"

"What are they talking about?" Kaedros asked Rauk, whose face had turned to stone.

Vexa answered. "Rauk is the illegitimate child of the King of Thalvaris. The King’s mistake."

Despite his rigid posture, Rauk flinched.

Kaedros looked at him with new eyes. An unwanted Prince. An orphaned heir. Interesting.

"But why didn’t he die long ago?" Thandor asked. "In the royal court, someone without power like him would’ve been dead the moment he was born."

"The King was powerful. Anything that touched his dirty little secret was kept quiet. Killing him would have raised questions," Vexa said.

"Was?" Kaedros asked, catching the word.

"Yes. He was powerful. Now he’s weak, and the kingdom suffers for it." Vexa’s voice was full of disgust. "Still, he refuses to name a successor or step down."

Thandor gave a humorless laugh. "The capital must be thick with politics." He sounded almost wistful. "And an illegitimate, powerless prince wants to enter that game? No wonder the Second Prince wants him dead."

"I would’ve found a way to use him instead," Thandor added.

"He might’ve been useful," Vexa said, "if he didn’t want to play hero. But I knew his secret ambition."

She smiled, cruel and wide. "He wants to be King."

Rauk’s jaw tightened. His fists clenched.

"Well, that’s a bold ambition," Eldric said, clearly amused. "The Celestial Order would’ve loved to plant a puppet king."

"Yes," Vexa said proudly. "I’ve been with him all his life, just waiting for the order from my master."

She paused.

Then her eyes narrowed.

"Wait... you’re stalling."

Eldric smiled. "I got the time I needed."

A pulse of power exploded from him.

The vines answered.

They burst from the walls, the floor, and the ceiling, twisting like snakes, their thorns raking the stone. They moved with speed and hunger, surrounding the room in a cage of venomous growth.

Kaedros, Taria, and Rauk all moved together to dodge the attack. The vines froze, writhing like cobras ready to strike.

"Nowhere to run," Thandor said. "Venomous Verdancy: Constrict."

The vines struck.

Kaedros was faster.

Before the poisonous tendrils could reach them, a transparent blue dome of light snapped into place. His shield locked down just in time.

The vines collided with it with a crack, winding around the dome, blotting out the light. Darkness swallowed them. The thorns tried to pierce through, and the shield trembled.

"Will this hold?" Taria asked. Her voice wasn’t afraid, just tired. Worn down by everything.

Kaedros studied the twisting vines and felt the pull on his mana. The shield was draining fast. The poison must be mama-based.

"It will hold," he said.

But for how long? Thandor might have enough mana to keep those vines alive indefinitely.

Then a high-pitched whine cut through the air like twisting metal moving at high speed.

The ground shook.

Kaedros felt it in his feet.

"What is that?" he asked, eyes darting to the dark corridor.

"I don’t know," Taria said, her bones buzzing with vibration.

Then Rauk spoke. "That’s Vexa. She uses vibration as a weapon."

The very air was vibrating now. All they could hear was the shriek that sounded like metal-on-metal.

And then.

The air exploded.

No fire. No light. Just a shockwave of pure cutting vibration, tiny blades of sound ripping through the room.

The vines were shredded instantly, their fragments scattered like confetti.

Kaedros’s shield buckled and his mana dropped in a rush as it absorbed the worst of the blast.

When the chaos faded, Vexa stood in the center of the corridor. Her sword was covered in a blurring energy, vibrating in her hand and creating a low pitch sound in the air around her.

She stood over the wreckage of Thandor’s vines,unscathed, unshaken.

"Are you brave enough to face me now, Refiner?" she said coldly, her eyes narrowed.

Her voice was thunderous and rage had only just begun as it showed on her face like thunder clouds.