In Liam's memories, Onyxia should have been in Stormwind City at this time, playing the spy. He had never imagined that Deathwing's own daughter, Her Highness the Black Dragon Princess, would be juggling two jobs at once and keeping herself so busy.
That memory was only the tip of the iceberg, after all. So much had been obscured by the mists of history that even a creature like a "player" couldn't uncover the truth.
But after a few words with the woman, Liam had a vague idea of who she was. When the question of who would claim the territory of the Alterac Kingdom had first come up, Duke Prestor—the guise Deathwing had taken—had been one of the strongest contenders.
Liam knew the whole story clearly, both from his other set of memories and from his own experience. After all, the other legitimate heir to the Alterac Kingdom, Isiden Perenolde, was currently "visiting" the Kingdom of Gilneas. King Genn had also once tried to claim the land, but the Kingdom of Lordaeron was so powerful that there had been no room for anyone else to get involved. The matter had simply been dropped.
The woman had mentioned his father. Add to that her exquisite fire magic and her iconic black hair and red dress, and if Liam still couldn't guess who she was, he might as well go to Pandaria, find a block of tofu, and bash his head against it until he died!
It was precisely because he'd recognized Onyxia that Liam had been so quick to call out her name. He wanted to catch the schemer who'd been pulling the strings from behind the scenes off guard. Not for any other reason than to avenge little Vanessa.
His other memories clearly showed how Vanessa's father had become a tool in Onyxia's plot to throw Stormwind City into chaos, and how he'd died for it. After witnessing her father's death, the little girl had been taken in by others. Later, when Varian ignored the plight of the Westfall refugees, she rebuilt the Defias Brotherhood and set foot on a path of no return.
Of course, in this life, Liam's unexpected arrival had led old Jorach to take Vanessa in, keeping her temporarily out of Stormwind City's whirlpool. No one could say what the future held, but at least she had a powerful backer now and wouldn't be left to the mercy of strangers.
Even so, Liam had no intention of letting the grudge against that bastard Deathwing go—not after he'd left Gilneas in ruin and its people dead. Even if his opponent was a dragon, Liam would give it a try. Dragons weren't necessarily invulnerable in their humanoid forms.
Besides, Liam Greymane hadn't spent all those years cooped up in the manor for nothing! Even if he couldn't win, escaping from Onyxia in a place like this wouldn't be difficult.
Liam had thought a great deal, but only an instant had passed. Taking advantage of the mother dragon's momentary distraction, he brought the gun back into his hand. This time, his shot was nothing like the first two.
"Bang!"
As Liam pulled the trigger again, the gun no longer spat flames imbued with magic. Instead, a brilliant golden light, brimming with holy power, burst from its muzzle!
Pure Holy Light enveloped the steel bullet and sent it hurtling toward Katrana Prestor's brow at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary round. This power had come to Liam through his card's possession—the power of the Holy Light, drawn from the source of the rules behind the [Prince Liam] Paladin card, a force belonging solely to Paladins.
This Holy Light bullet was the real trump card Liam had cultivated over three years!
The Holy Light-wreathed bullet struck Katrana between the brows. To everyone's surprise, it sank slowly into her pale skin, visible to the naked eye. But what spurted from the torn flesh wasn't blood. It was solid flame, like molten lava.
Under the searing heat, the steel bullet wrapped in Holy Light began to melt and run down her pale skin, mixing with the molten flames. Yet, strangely, it left not a single mark.
Except for the hole between Katrana's brows, which was visibly healing!
Watching the Holy Light between her brows fade away as its vessel vanished, Katrana fought back waves of dizziness and glared at Liam, who still had his gun trained on her.
"You actually managed to hurt me, mortal. Not bad! And that poison... Too bad poisons barely affect dragons. If you weren't so annoying, I might have given you to my dear brother as a test subject. But now... I'm afraid I just want to burn you to ashes!"
After pouring out all her rage, Katrana held out one hand. A massive fireball formed, radiating enough heat to melt anything, and drifted toward Liam.
She wanted to toy with the mouse before her, roasting him bit by bit until he'd suffered enough, then burning him to ashes. There was another reason she'd never admit: Liam's sudden shot hadn't done much damage, but the Holy Light and the deadly poison that had seeped into her body had left her feeling awful.
Her wish was a beautiful one, but reality was harsh. Not long after the fireball shot forth, a shrill cry came flying in through the window, landing squarely in front of Liam. It was Coral, whom Liam had secretly summoned with a whistle.
The enormous fireball slammed into Coral and, as expected... killed her in one hit.
Having grown used to this routine, Coral hatched again in record time. The giant egg formed around her hatched in the blink of an eye. "666 Pyros" made another dazzling entrance, flapping his wings in midair and standing majestically between Liam and the mother dragon.
The scorching heat turned everything in the room to ash, but Liam remained completely unharmed.
"A Phoenix! Are you a mage?! No, there isn't a trace of magic on you. Even that old blue dragon couldn't hide his magic from a black dragon, the master of illusions and barrier magic! Who are you?"
The miserable mother dragon shouted in fury. Her voice had lost its earlier tenderness and grown shrill and grating.
Today's encounters had been one shock after another for her. She'd thought the boy was a thief, only for him to suddenly wield the Holy Light exclusive to Paladins. Fine, Holy Light. Then the boy had suddenly summoned a Phoenix from who knew where!
Onyxia would swear on her true name that she'd never seen—or even heard of—such a freak who could do everything.
With a roar, Katrana's slender body suddenly swelled. Black scales, twisting horns, sharp claws, and enormous wings all appeared before Liam. Her massive body burst through the castle roof. Coral, who had originally stood twice as tall as a person and looked enormous, now seemed like a chick facing a tiger...
The mother dragon was no longer the bewitching Countess Katrana Prestor. She was the daughter of the world-destroying Black Dragon King, the true Black Dragon Princess—Onyxia!
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