36. Infermur, The City Where the Dragon Awakens (3)
-Thump, thump, thump…
The resonance within the dragon’s skull continued, slow but strong. Fernandez, gripping the Control Spell tightly, stared at the skull.
Their eyes met. An instinctive fear of the incomprehensible being and the overwhelming pressure of the gap in power enveloped Fernandez.
But incomprehensible? Fernandez had once summoned one of the five Great Demons himself. Overwhelming gap in power? He had proven his life by defeating the warriors of the Temple of the Gods one by one.
Therefore, for him, the High Dark Mage who had always thrust a dagger into others’ throats for survival, this was rather familiar.
[Are you the successor of King Dane?]
“…?”
Suddenly, a low voice came from beyond the skull. The dragon was in confusion. Its soul, worn down by the passage of thousands of years, was in decline.
Slowly, flesh and scales began to attach to its body centered around the skull. It wasn’t a normal resurrection. Overwhelming magic was giving it the most familiar form.
[You smell similar to King Dane. Are you King Dane’s child? Or his son? Dane. How did that guy meet his end?]
-Whoosh.
Above Fernandez’s head, the dragon’s wing bones rose. Soon, muscles, flesh, and scales began to fill the empty spaces between the wing bones like spider webs.
[Huhuhu, he must have been happy. I made him that way. Ah, Verdan, Verdan… I want to see that child too. Do you know anything about him?]
-Rumble.
Flesh attached to the dragon’s foreleg. Massive, strong muscles climbed up the dragon’s arm.
-Thud.
The dragon placed its foreleg on the ground. A cloud of dust instantly covered Fernandez. In the dust, Fernandez silently stared straight ahead.
-Flicker.
Before his eyes, a blue flame flashed. Soon, the dust cleared-
-And there were the dragon’s eyes.
The dragon looked down at Fernandez with its blue eyes. The eyes, reflecting the resonance, shone brilliantly even in the darkness.
[Why are you silent? Can’t you speak human language? I am curious. The war? What happened to the war? Ah, I am thirsty. My head is ringing. I have slept too long. Too long. My children must still be waiting for me. They cannot do without me.]
-Crash.
The dragon’s lower body was still buried underground. The dragon slowly struggled to pull its lower body out of the ground. Grotesque muscles writhed, and its forelegs crushed and shattered the ground.
[I had a bad dream. A very wicked nightmare. I dreamed that the Church of the Underground Burial finally extended their claws to Dane, that young one’s kingdom. I stepped in. I drove them all away. Yes. You young humans always needed my help. Even in dreams!]
The dragon chuckled, making a sound like the wind. Fernandez was trying to extract as much information as possible from the dragon’s rambling.
The dragon seemed to think its death was a dream. And the ‘Church of the Underground Burial’ that could kill the dragon…
The Necropolis Under Catacombs ruled by Mumto’s six priests? Before the Under Catacombs were released as Pertas’ ‘Lion Secretary.’
This is the story from the time of King Knight Dane, the founder of the Dane Kingdom.
[Why are you silent? Little child. Human child. I am the guardian dragon of your kingdom and the last surviving dragon in this material world. I do not seek worship, but why do you guard against me?]
The dragon tilted its head, looking at Fernandez.
[My appearance seems to have frightened you. Pitiful and sad, but you humans have always been like this. Huhu.]
“Dragon. You were not asleep.”
Fernandez cautiously opened his mouth. He was ready to pull the Control Spell at any moment, slowly looking into the dragon’s eyes.
“The material world no longer desires dragons. Your story is nothing but a legend to scare children. Your eternal rest has been disturbed.”
Fernandez, holding onto the Beastman, wrapped the Control Spell around his arm. A thin thread of magic connected the dragon and him.
“State your name.”
[What nonsense… Your rudeness knows no bounds. Little human. I spare you punishment only because of your king’s face…]
“State your name!”
Fernandez roughly manipulated the spell. The dragon’s pupils dilated, and its massive body staggered for a moment. So far, it’s a success. The dragon hadn’t noticed the [Control] placed upon it.
[What have you done to me! Who are you! Where is your king! How dare you do this to me…]
“Ancient Demon. State your name!”
The divinity flowing through Fernandez’s veins lent authority to his voice. The dragon, after all, belonged to death.
-How is this even working?
Faijashi chuckled.
