Farum Azula was always daytime, bright and sunlit, without the slightest trace of Darkness.
But in truth, time in the Lands Between had long since slipped into night. Tonight, the atmosphere in the City in the Sky could only be described as feverish.
When Nolan and Sethlin returned to the city's upper levels, they saw Flying Dragons and Beastmen hurrying about on their respective battlefields.
Even the Ancient Dragons had appeared in person. Their enormous wings cut across the sky, bringing down powerful gusts of wind, and their rock-hard scales gleamed almost white.
While Nolan and Sethlin had been exploring the city's abandoned buildings, the turmoil had grown worse and worse, until Josda finally began to take it seriously.
That fellow seemed to have concluded that Maliketh intended to destroy the Ancient Dragons' last place of survival.
"Maliketh sneaked in so quietly. He was probably planning to kill me in secret," Nolan said seriously.
"But maybe something unexpected happened in the north, so he changed his plan at the last moment," Nolan continued thoughtfully.
"Big Brother, are you saying Maliketh's real target is you?" A trace of disdain flashed through Sethlin's eyes. She clearly did not agree.
She silently felt that Nolan was being a little too full of himself.
After all, how could a mere up-and-coming human Lord possibly be more important than the entire Ancient Dragon clan?
In her view, Maliketh had gone to such lengths because he must have designs on the Ancient Dragons. It could not be as simple as removing a single human Lord.
"Big Brother, we may be strong, but we can't lose touch with reality!" Sethlinsax urged him earnestly. "Maliketh isn't an ordinary person. Even Josda is no match for him."
Although Nolan had beaten her badly before, ever since she became his underling, he had actually treated her quite well.
So as his underling, she felt responsible for helping Big Brother face reality, lest Nolan rush excitedly at Maliketh the moment he saw him and get his head knocked off.
In Farum Azula, if there was anyone Sethlin absolutely could not provoke, it was not Placidusax. It was Maliketh.
After all, Placidusax still doted on her somewhat, but Maliketh would genuinely kill her.
"You should know that Maliketh came to Farum Azula to guard something. Do you know what that thing is?" Nolan asked casually.
Sethlinsax shook her head blankly. She had never even thought about that question.
Seeing this, Nolan's lips curved slightly into a faint smile, and he slowly said, "Death."
After a pause, Nolan continued, "When you were in Stormveil Castle, you should have seen the Godskin Apostles and Godskin Nobles in the city, right?"
Sethlinsax nodded. She had a fairly deep impression of those Godskin Apostles and Godskin Nobles.
Although Nolan had not yet officially let those Godskin Apostles take part in battle, the Firelink Knights had already formally incorporated them into the Firelink Army.
In an ordinary alliance, no one would directly turn an ally's people into their own, but to the Gloam-Eyed Queen, this arrangement was good news.
In her view, it was proof that Nolan saw her as one of his own.
Although the price she had paid was still far from Marika's method of sending over her daughter and then her son, it was still clear that Nolan was beginning to accept her.
Unfortunately, the Gloam-Eyed Queen had no physical body right now. Otherwise, though she had no sons or daughters, she could have offered herself instead.
The Gloam-Eyed Queen knew that she was only a half-dead Empyrean with little power and few followers. For things to have developed this far was already good enough. What more could she ask for?
"You're connected to the Gloam-Eyed Queen too?" Sethlinsax stared in shock, her eyes wide as copper bells, as if they might fall right out.
Her exaggerated reaction was not due to fear of death. After all, to her, death was simply part of the Lands Between's natural cycle.
Sethlin had personally lived through the age when death still existed, so she would not fear a god merely because of one authority.
She simply had not expected Nolan to be involved with a contender for the throne of a long-dead Elden God.
"Big Brother, maybe I should go first. I won't bother you while you look for someone," Sethlinsax said cautiously, shrinking her neck.
She did not want to get dragged into matters involving gods. A god killed by Maliketh was nothing to fear, but Maliketh was still alive.
"With courage that small, how are you ever going to grow into a mighty Ancient Dragon?" Nolan could not help finding it funny.
He reached out and easily caught the little girl's hand, gripping it as firmly as an iron clamp.
Sethlin struggled for a long while but could not break free, so she could only give up.
"It's not that I don't want to become a great Ancient Dragon. I'm afraid I'll become a dead dragon first!"
Sethlin said with a miserable expression. She was still a young dragon baby. She did not want to die young.
"Do you look down on dead dragons? Fortissax is a dead dragon too!"
"And how is he doing now?"
"He died by my hand."
Sethlinsax was certain Nolan was threatening her. Where had that gentle Big Brother gone, the one who used to give her candy?
Beside them, Melina watched their tightly joined hands and gave an inexplicable little snort, thinking that Nolan was as bad as ever. All he knew how to do was bully people.
"If I saw correctly, Florissax came out just now too, right? Let's go find her."
Nolan suddenly spoke, then dragged Sethlinsax east without giving her any chance to object.
"Big Brother, you finally gave up? I told you, why look for Maliketh for no reason? The most important thing is knowing your own limits."
Sethlinsax let out a breath of relief, as though a heavy burden had been lifted.
"If you knew your own limits, I wouldn't be your Big Brother right now," Nolan said irritably. "Aren't you curious what Maliketh plans to do now that he's changed his plan?"
"Do what?" Sethlinsax asked, completely bewildered.
"If there hadn't been an invasion in the north, I would most likely be staying in the room you arranged for me, or somewhere nearby, right?" Nolan asked.
Sethlinsax nodded, growing more and more curious about what Nolan was about to say.
"Actually, even in that large area, finding me wouldn't have been easy. And under the current circumstances, I'm even more likely to be wandering around, so he is probably trying to find me amid the chaos," Nolan said. "That means starting with you and Florissax is actually the best option."
"How can you be sure Maliketh would think you care about us?"
"I'm not sure because of him. I'm sure because of the image my knights, my people, and your sister Lansseax have built for me." Nolan shook his head.
"Maliketh and I don't know each other. I know very little about him, and he should be the same when it comes to me."
"With his intelligence, he should know I have a good relationship with all of you. And if he also believes I'm that great, radiant, righteous Lord people talk about..."
"How could a great, radiant, righteous Lord stand by while his friends fall into danger, or even get killed?"
"What if you're wrong, and his target isn't me or Sister Florissax?"
"I can't look after everyone. In any case, you won't be in danger as long as you're with me." Nolan waved his hand.
Sethlinsax froze. What great, radiant, righteous Lord? This was obviously an incredibly selfish guy.
And yet, despite such blatant selfishness, a warmth rose in her chest before she could stop it.
"Bad Big Brother!" Sethlinsax suddenly shouted.