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.
He was looking at the dragon with an excited smile. In his previous life, summoning entities of the wraith lineage often fell victim to such tricks by priests. What Fernandez was doing was close to mimicking the past.
Names hold power. It’s a cliché and ancient legend, but it held some truth. A vow made with one’s true name. And the submission offered by giving one’s true name is a pledge of the soul’s dignity.
Thus, clerics hide their names when embarking on missions. Just as Fernandez and Kirhas called each other Angelo and Vasila.
[An Ancient Demon! Such a wretched remark! I fought for your kingdom… My head, my head is ringing!]
At that moment, the dragon thrashed and shook its head. Soon, it glared fiercely into the void and roared.
[Who are you! Who dares summon me?! What happened while I was asleep?! You and him! Such insolence!]
-Crackle!
The dragon struggled violently to free its buried lower body. Its eyes were fixed on the space beyond the ceiling. The dragon was not paying attention to Fernandez at the moment.
‘Is there someone else?’
-Shh.
Faijashi sharply glared in the direction the dragon was looking. He closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought. The dragon was now looking east. If there was someone summoning the dragon from that direction…
-Elfin Serpentking Guimerin. It must be him.
‘He’s summoning the dragon? Does that mean he knew of the dragon’s existence?’
-Infermur is his domain. Of course, he would know what lies buried beneath it. But I’ve never heard of him summoning the dragon in his past life…
In his past life, the Guimerin Dynasty was a wandering tribe, one of the weakest among the Elven Trident. If they had summoned the dragon, they wouldn’t have fallen so easily.
Especially after losing the entire northeastern disaster zone to Franzrit?
‘Let’s discard the hypothesis that the dragon and Guimerin killed each other.’
-Isn’t it too early?
‘There are other pieces. Guimerin is not one to gamble his life on a sure failure. If he summoned the dragon, it means he had confidence.’
During the Celestial War, dragons roamed the earth. A king who lived since then wouldn’t underestimate the dragon’s power. Then, there must be another reason Guimerin lost Infermur to Franzrit.
‘What about this?’
-Hmm?
‘The Franzrit vampires tried to attack Guimerin by summoning the dragon through necromancers.’
-That’s right.
‘Given the circumstances, Guimerin knew and tolerated it. It means he was confident he could resurrect and control the dragon.’
-That makes sense.
-Crackle!!
-Rumble.
Finally, the dragon’s leg broke free from the ground. The belly of its foreleg, with thick, grotesque muscles, writhed into place. Crimson scales began to densely grow over it.
The dragon didn’t consider its flesh as ‘resurrected’ or ‘summoned.’ It believed it had been buried in the ground while it slept.
‘If in his past life, Guimerin didn’t see Franzrit’s secret letter and thus couldn’t predict the traitor within. If he was ambushed the moment he concentrated his forces to summon the dragon? What about this speculation?’
-It’s plausible. So, does that mean he’s now preparing for both the traitor and the dragon?
‘We need to know what he aims to gain from the dragon.’
Whatever King Guimerin’s goal, it’s highly unlikely to benefit humanity. Elves are exclusive about other races’ affairs. Having thwarted the vampires’ plan, it was now time to disrupt the elves’ plan.
While those two forces point their blades at each other, sharing schemes and strategies. A piece neither of them expected.
The time of the Inquisition Officer, armed with the Control Spell and securing the dragon, has come!
‘We need to gamble a bit.’
-Well, that’s today’s agenda.
The dragon lowered its head, seemingly balancing its body. Its wings spread wide, preparing for flight.
Soon, the dragon would take off. Fernandez had to secure control over the dragon before that. He quickly ran and climbed onto the dragon’s head, which was regaining its composure.
[Ah!! Insolent fool! What is this?!]
The dragon, startled by Fernandez’s sudden attack, shook its head. Fernandez raised his nearly shattered longsword and swiftly brought it down.
-Crack!
The sword lodged itself between the dragon’s scales. Even with Fernandez’s enhanced strength from divine power, piercing through the dragon’s scales, muscles, and bones was difficult. But this much was enough.
He didn’t intend to pierce the dragon’s head and kill it. That was impossible anyway. Fernandez, gripping the sword hilt with one hand, raised his other hand and entwined the beastman.
Through the blade embedded in the dragon’s head, the dragon’s magic and Fernandez’s magic intertwined. Strictly speaking, the dragon’s flesh wasn’t a living, physical entity now.
It was merely artificial flesh created by intricate spells and magic. That meant there was still a thread for him to infiltrate.
Before completion, he couldn’t recklessly touch the massive magic, but a fully stabilized magical structure was easier to penetrate.
Fernandez’s eyes slowly closed. Without stopping his hand, he guided the dragon’s magic to the bronze throne.
-Groan…
A black halo rose behind his head. The magic was complete. Delicately weaving the Resurrection Spell and driving magic wedges, Fernandez gradually fell into a trance.
‘How could he perform such perfect necromancy? It’s beyond the level of knowledge granted to humans…’
Fernandez, casting a counterspell on the magical formula forming the dragon’s surface consciousness, fell into contemplation. Soon, his vision darkened.
*
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