'The Creator of Dragons?'
The owner of dragons.
Those words struck deeply into Elric's mind.
Once again, the contents he had seen in the Magical Amulet flashed through his head: a figure wielding dragons in one hand and giants in the other—the founder.
With a hood covering their entire figure, it was impossible to guess their face, age, or even gender.
But that person had been more radiant than anyone, smiling brightly.
If what this dragon said was true, then that scene was no lie.
The creator of dragons!
Until now, dragons had been known as beings so revered that they were called the "Supreme Species".
According to legend, they were the ones who created magic, allowing humans to imitate and learn from it.
There were even certain schools within the Magic Tower that discussed dragons as if they were gods.
And yet, here was this dragon saying that the Melvingers were the truly great ones.
And that they had been waiting for a Melvinger.
'Is this dragon referring to the Jewel Dragon when it says "that person"? Or someone else? Whatever it is, why would they have been waiting for me...?'
Elric tried to organize his confused thoughts and asked the first question that came to mind after much deliberation.
[Who are you?]
[I... am nothing.]
Nothing?
What did that mean?
[I... am just a being... that waits. I cling to life here... merely to see... what that person... spoke of.]
[But... I wanted to see it sooner... so I sent my... bloodline's shadow... beneath the earth.]
The dragon's words were disjointed. It seemed his mind was not stable enough to speak coherently.
But it felt as if he was trying to spill everything that had accumulated in his heart over the long years.
Perhaps he had been trapped here for so long that he needed someone to talk to.
[And now... the one who will... see the end of it... has finally come. Oh... Dragon King... I am merely... grateful for your grace... I am only...!]
'I can't just let him keep rambling like this.'
Elric realized he needed to interrupt. The dragon was starting to lose track of what he was saying.
Its mind was faltering.
Just as Elric was about to ask his next question—
Boom!
Suddenly, the dragon heaved its massive body, slowly rising. Its back hit the ceiling of the cavern, causing the cave to shake violently as dust and debris fell.
[But... I'm still not certain... I must test... to see... if you are truly... the one that person... spoke of!]
A test.
The word instantly made Elric tense up, wondering if the dragon was about to cast some kind of magic.
"I'll take that test instead."
Suddenly, an echoing voice rang out from behind.
It was a low voice, but powerful enough to make the wraith tremble just from hearing it.
Elric quickly turned his gaze toward the source.
Step.
Step.
A man slowly approached with calm strides.
Was he around 190 centimeters? No, perhaps even taller.
His extremely tall, thin frame gave him the appearance of a scarecrow.
He looked so frail that it seemed a mere touch would knock him over, but—
The black demonic energy swirling around him, contrasting with his pale skin, made him seem frightening in a way that couldn't quite be explained.
'Gregory!'
Elric instantly recognized who it was.
Many demons had tried to conquer this labyrinth-like nest, but this one had finally succeeded in finding the exit.
Unlike the other demons who had easily fallen victim to the dragon's rampage, this one was different.
This was a demon who could harness some of Azazel's power.
A vessel.
He was essentially the same as Judas, whom Elric had previously fought.
But unlike the incomplete Judas, this one was far stronger.
Much stronger.
It meant only one thing.
A Demon King.
He was a being who could be called by that name.
"At last, I've found you, Guardian Dragon."
Whoosh!
Savage.
The dark seal of the crow glowed ominously, visible through his shirt.
"Do you know how much time, effort, and sacrifice it took for us to find you?"
Whirl!
Rumble...
Roaaar!
Was it because of the whirlpool of madness Gregory had created?
The cave shook violently, and the dragon's mana, which had been spread throughout the space, began to scatter chaotically.
The nest, which had been both the dragon's prison and precious haven, was gradually becoming tainted with demonic energy, turning into a demonic domain, as evidence of a small-scale demon realm.
Perhaps it was this provocation that triggered the dragon's instincts, pushing it beyond the limits of reason.
The dragon spread its wings wide and roared.
The very atmosphere trembled, and the cave shook as though it would collapse. Cracks began to spread through the cave walls, threatening to bury everyone inside.
Despite the impending collapse, the demon seemed completely unconcerned.
"How unfortunate. I expected at least a greeting, even if you wouldn't offer hospitality. After all, we are the ones who've sought you out after over a thousand years when no one else bothered."
The reason Gregory had been hiding in the eastern frontier for so long was precisely to find this nest.
If he could acquire the Dragon Heart, Azazel's resurrection could be accelerated.
"Though your condition seems far worse than expected, making you less useful to our lord... we will still have to try."
With a grin, the demon curved his fingers like hooks, and long, demonic claws grew from the tips, filled with concentrated demonic energy.
Swoosh!
The demon lunged at the dragon, who opened its massive jaws and exhaled a scorching breath.
Despite having lost much of its former power, the dragon had not yet forfeited its right to be called a dragon.
The intense heat of its breath melted the cave walls as it shot toward the demon.
But—
Shwing!
With a simple flick of his hand, the demon diverted the breath to the side, then slashed at the dragon with his other claw.
The sound of something tearing filled the air.
A fountain of blood erupted from five gashes in the dragon's long neck, so deep that even the bones inside were visible.
Rumble!
Crack!
The dragon, writhing in pain, lashed out with even more primal fury, trying to seize the demon.
The battle had begun.
"Hahaha! The last dragon in existence? How disappointing! You're far weaker than I imagined!"
But the demon felt no fear from this dragon, who could barely muster any magic and was resorting to brute force.
Even amid the deafening crashes and roars, the maniacal laughter was clear.
Then—
The demon, facing the dragon, suddenly turned his gaze toward the back.
There.
Elric's wraith was standing.
The demon was looking directly at Elric.
Grin!
The demon didn't say a word.
He simply smiled, revealing his sharp fangs.
But the sight of those white teeth against his red lips was chillingly sinister.
And then.
Slash!
A gust of wind from nowhere cut through the wraith.
The wraith was sliced apart on the spot. Black stains filled Elric's vision.
Thud!
Elric's shared vision was severed.
***
It took a long time before Elric could calm the throbbing pain in his head and regain his senses.
Because he had been too deeply synchronized with the wraith, the penalty of having his shared vision forcibly cut off was severe.
『I didn't expect Gregory to show up at the very end. Ugh! I don't like this at all.』
Mephisto, who had returned from the nest, was frowning heavily.
『Are you just going to let this happen? Those bastards are about to take our goldmine!』
Technically, Gregory had set their sights on the nest long ago, and Elric was just trying to take it for himself.
But as always, Mephisto interpreted everything in a way that benefited him.
"Of course, I won't let that happen."
The problem was that Elric felt the same way.
He had no intention of letting Gregory claim the dragon's nest.
The dragon had said it had been waiting for him.
It also mentioned a test.
That meant the dragon might give him something.
How could he pass up such an opportunity?
Even if the dragon's fortune didn't matter, there was no way he could let Gregory succeed.
'The problem is, I'm sure he didn't come alone.'
Elric realized it was time to mobilize the Star's Legion.
They had rested for over a month, replenishing their strength, and their skills had improved considerably in the short-term training.
Now was the time to strike and retake the dragon's nest.
And then—
'I'll launch an attack on Gregory's main base as well.'
At that moment, Elric solidified his plan for the future.
Gregory was one of the three pillars supporting the rebellion.
He had decided to root him out completely.
Doing so would shake the rebellion to its core.
And that was the duty Elric had to fulfill as the current head of the Melvinger family.
Finally,
It was time for the Star's Legion to make their comeback.
***
However,
Elric's plans did not proceed immediately.
"What?"
A completely unexpected internal conflict had erupted.
"Say that again."
The soldier who had reported the news looked utterly distraught, though it wasn't his fault, and soon spoke in a bitter voice with his eyes squeezed shut.
"Lord Brian has been severely injured. As a result, he's bedridden."
At that moment.
『Your eyes…?』
Mephisto's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Elric, but then he quickly shut his mouth, realizing it wasn't the right time to speak.
Elric's eyes were glowing fiercely.
But
Somehow, those eyes resembled the ones the dragon had when facing the demon.
Eyes that were a mixture of primal instincts and mana.
Eyes that crushed everything in their path.
"Who was it?"
Was it because of that?
Elric's voice was laced with such a powerful wave of mana that it sent chills down the soldier's spine.
"Who the hell did such a thing?"
[Announcement: Due to the lack of support for this novel, I have halted the translation. If any reader wants to read more chapters of this novel then they can visit my ko-fi page. If I receive the enough support for this novel, then I will again pick up the translation of this novel. Thank you very much for the love you readers showed for this novel, and I apologize for so much wait.]
[T/L: Ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]