#ch 563

errr not really?

ok first things first, yes dragons are very powerful, but berkis is,, especially so.

you might be misremembering a comment solitas' made about something his mother told him when he was younger

High-ranking angels. Even though Solitas was young, he had heard about them. And he knew one thing for sure. He'd be stronger than me. His mother's teaching came to his mind. She taught me that angels were strong. She told me how difficult it is to against them because it's not easy to leave damage on their body. It's better to fight three or four low-ranking angels or one mid-ranking angel if you're an ordinary dragon.

later that chapter berkis does stop him from fighting raphael but it's not really cause he's worried he's too strong for even berkis to defeat him. he just thinks it's bothersome. fighting with angels makes life too complicated.

"You don't want to get involved with an angel. It's only going to complicate your life as a dragon." "What?" Solitas stopped. Berkis grinned mysteriously. "The devils in Hell pretend to obey you if you overpower them, but the angels are different. They're a terrible bunch of inflexible folks who play it exactly by the books and never back off on a decision unless they agree with it. They're as flexible as a piece of iron." "I do not get what you mean..." "And now," Berkis kindly went on, "an angel, a high-ranking angel at that, made a direct appearance in our world. What does that tell you? It shows that he's here to implement a decision that was already made. So, stay out of this, kid. You can't bend an angel's dogged will with your powers, and even if you do, you'll only leave a bad impression and make your life miserable."

again, none of this indicates that berkis thinks he won't win against an angel, just that he thinks solitas can't or that even if he can it will only make things worse because then they'll have a bunch of pissed off angels to deal with.

furthermore! the sequel very strongly implies that berkis is at the same level as the rulers of the other realms, like the king of hell and the archangel.

there's a line in ch 563 that makes me go crazy when i think too hard about the implications of it but we're gonna ignore them for now and focus on the important bit.

so while they're both getting scammed by rakiel, lloyd talks to javier telepathically on a 'channel dedicated to the Absolutes'. and then. they start talking to berkis through it too, telling him that 'wouldn't it be better to have three absolutes rather two?' while they practice how to defeat the demon king. which. means that just as javier and lloyd are the absolutes of hell and heaven respectively, berkis is an absolute of the mortal realm. if not thee absolute of the mortal realm.

so like. yeah. berkis is in a completely different level than any other dragons. in fact he's strong enough that when he was barely an adult he defeated in one hit a dragon who destroyed half the world by himself. so imagine how strong he is now that he's had plenty to grow up.

also fun fact he's only the dragon king because chayoung said he was? like?? he didn't think he was before she arrived but she'd been told a dragon king existed (maybe a fairytale?) so when she saw berkis she just?? kinda assumed it was him?? and much to his horror it stuck aaksjkldsf

Also, I would like to know the following: what this telepathy between Javier and Lloyd? Lloyd doesn't have insomnia anymore right since his body is Suho's? Also, does Javier keep asking Lloyd lullabies, and not ask for a recording? Heck, he could have also used that paper he read when he fell asleep by himself?

they do yes!

in ch 333 we get to see arcos' feelings about it and god. it's so sweet.

I want to tell you everything, Lloyd… But I have no clue as to how I should talk to or ask you about this. I already see you as my precious son. I am grateful for you. Count Frontera raised his gaze to the sky once more. He was at a loss for words. The sky was incredibly dark and blue, filled with light from the moon and stars, clouds, and shooting stars. He sighed as his heart filled with uncertainty and regret. Unable to distract his mind he simply reached out and tightly grabbed Lloyd’s hand. He hoped his unspoken feelings and thoughts would be conveyed to his son: Whatever you do, whatever you hide, you are my precious son that I will always be thankful for. In the cold and cozy night, they affectionately held each other’s hand. It was a stroll between a father and son or two people who hoped that would become true someday.

then later on ch 347 we get another glimpse of their thoughts about him

"I was curious. I felt suffocated as it was. So, I wanted to ask if Lloyd was doing well. You know, since an angel cannot lie." She felt him tighten her hand. "But I could not dare say my question out loud. It seemed like I would be wronging the current Lloyd. I feel too indebted to that child to do so." "You made the right choice..." His voice cracked. "I did, right?" "Yes..." he said, lacking certainty. This time, she wrapped his hand. "He will tell us when the time comes, right? The boy has a kind heart." "Yes... I believe he will." "I know it. He is a good kid." Her eyes grew red and teary again while his nose reddened. Clutching each other, the two decided to put their trust in Lloyd and wait for him to eventually tell the truth. They hoped for the best while trying to put on a smile. He is a kind... dutiful... and hardworking kid...

they already know he's not who he says he is but they trust and love him enough to wait for him the tell them the truth himself.

and finally in ch 402 (my beloathed </3) we don't get to see much of them interacting but we do get a little snippet of how their relationship developed and it's really sweet.

lloyd does start calling them father and mother, even if he's a little awkward and embarrassed about it at first, and they both reassure him that it doesn't matter that he's not their biological kid, they've thought of him as a son for a long time. which. i will sob about it extensively thanks for asking.

as for whether the fronteras exists in the sequel,,,, i really do not know. i feel like they would've been mentioned already considering how far into the novel we already are but at the same time it feels weird for it to not even mention them! like! even if lloyd didn't perpetuate the family name as the eldest son because charlotte was a magentano, then at least julian's kid should've carried on with it!

like you said, if they were around they'd be a pretty damn powerful family what with lloyd marrying the queen of magentano and julian marrying the princess of asfahan and the infrastructure lloyd left them with. they should be active participants of the court or at least present, unlike the asrahans that have been pretty much exiled to the borders. and if it eventually died off for some reason you'd think that would be mentioned if only in passing. but the complete absence of it or the estate feels weird unless it's building up suspense for an eventual reveal.

i don't know! it's weird! i wanna see where this is going!

as for the telepathy,,, the wording is a bit unclear but it's implied the absolutes (?) of every realm get to a mental channel to talk to each other. at least while they're in vicinity to each other. javier and lloyd use it right after rakiel ripped both of them off and berkis can listen to them talk on it, but it's implied the demon king can't hear them and he's on the same level as them, so... maybe it's only when they're in the same realm? again, kinda hard to know right now.

and no, suho does not have insomnia anymore, he lost his circles and his manaheart so unless he upgrades again, he's nowhere at the level of a swordmaster and so he doesn't experience swordmaster syndrome.

and yes, javier does keep asking lloyd to sing him lullabies. it's not mentioned whether he needs them anymore, probably not, as you mentioned he fell asleep on his own even as a human while reading outloud to lloyd but i suspect he just likes falling asleep quickly while hearing lloyd talk <3