VOLUME 9: CHAPTER 9

VOLUME 9: CHAPTER 9

‘Blackie, listen. Dragons have one of the sturdiest bodies among all creatures in this world. But there is a time when they are most vulnerable – and that is when they are in their human form. When you see one in this state, do not miss it. Deliver the finishing blow right away.’

The Scylla could still vividly remember the words uttered to it by its Master over a millennium ago. The Scylla was less than a hundred years old back then, but it had already accompanied the Dragon Devourer in numerous battles against the Dragon Race. Suffice to say, the Scylla had seen how its Master slaughtered Dragons by the dozens. It had seen how a single human destroyed the Dragon tribes in the Frost Mountains of Yleonor. The spells and the techniques used by the Dragon Devourer – a human feared even by the Dragon Race – had already been engraved within its mind.

“Die!” roared the Scylla.

It knew that it shouldn’t let go of this chance, when the Dragons were still in their human form. Taking the Master’s advice into mind, it immediately fired two beams of mana toward the Fire Dragons.

Although the beam looked like a simple spell at a glance, it was made after gathering massive amounts of mana and forcefully compressing it to this size. According to the Dragon Devourer, the scales of the Dragon Race were naturally resistant to the five basic elements. The best way to kill them was to use non-elemental spells, or to use an artifact capable of piercing their scales.

Vulcan, the leader of the Fire Dragons, pulled out the claymore on his back and slashed the beam of mana, cutting it in half. Shahaneth, on the other hand, created a wall of flame and successfully blocked the attack.

Vulcan frowned. He growled, “You. What are you doi—”

He stopped midway his speech upon seeing hundreds of spheres of mana manifesting themselves around them. The spheres of mana were forcefully compressed by the Scylla and started spinning rapidly. It was non-elemental magic – the bane of the Dragon Race.

“F-Father, above us,” said Shahaneth.

They looked up and saw four fifty-meters large magic formations in the sky, directly right above them. By the time they’d noticed, the magic formations were already complete. And judging by the layers and runes, they were all Grand Scale Magic. With seven heads working together, the Scylla’s casting speed surpassed even that of a Dragon’s.

The magic formations glowed and shattered into numerous particles of light.

The four Grand Scale Magic – gravity spells capable of rendering even someone from the Dragon Race temporarily immobile – fell upon the Fire Dragons.

Still in their human forms, even the leader of the Fire Dragons couldn’t easily break through four concurrent Grand Scale Magic cast by the Scylla. Moreover, after being compressed to their utmost limit, the orbs of mana started shooting toward the two of them.

For the first time in several hundred years, Vulcan felt shivers crawl down his spine. He realized that their opponent this time knew how to slay dragons. Instead of using Grand Scale Magic to attack them, it used the spell to limit their mobility. The seven-headed monster also did not use any spells belonging to the five basic elements, as though it knew that it would hardly cause harm to those from the Dragon Race. Instead, it used mana at its purest form, compressed it, and turned it into its weapons.

Vulcan gnashed his teeth.

If those orbs of mana hit them while they were in their human form, they would suffer tremendous damage.

“Shahaneth! Release your polymorph spell!” roared Vulcan.

Shahaneth did not question the decision of his father. Even she realized that they might perish if they continued fighting at this state. Without hesitation, the two of them immediately released the polymorph spell binding their bodies.

They tried to.

To their utter horror, the Scylla seemed to have anticipated this. The seven-headed creature sneered as it fired a thin thread of disintegration spell to the Fire Dragons. Veiled by the orbs of mana, the disintegration spell successfully hit its target. It was not enough to kill the Fire Dragons, but it was more than enough to hinder them from undoing the polymorph spell.

The mana within the Fire Dragons’ bodies started acting erratically. They managed to control their rampaging mana within seconds, but this opening was more than enough for the orbs to finally hit their targets.

Vulcan gritted his teeth as the orbs of compressed mana struck his body from all directions. It was unbelievable that such a basic spell, when used to its utmost limit, was capable of damaging the bodies of someone from their race. After being hit by over a hundred orbs of compressed mana, Vulcan’s armor finally formed cracks and the orbs started hitting his flesh.

Vulcan looked to his left, and his mind went momentarily blank upon seeing his daughter. Unlike him, who turned his scales into armor during the polymorph spell, Shahaneth did not have anything protecting her body. His daughter suffered a worse fate than him. She’d already fallen unconscious, her body riddled with wounds from the orbs of mana.

Unable to do anything, Vulcan helplessly watched as his daughter fell toward the ground.

“Why are you doing this!” he growled.

Vulcan’s eyes glimmered with dangerous light. He trembled from rage. He wanted to slaughter the seven-headed monster before him, but the hundreds of orbs of mana, which incessantly shot toward him, rendered him unable to fight back. He tried releasing the polymorph spell every now and then, but the Scylla always made sure to fire a disintegration spell to interrupt the flow of mana at the very last moment.

It was surreal.

There was not a hint of hesitation as the Scylla fired spells at it one after another. It used powerful spells to hinder the Dragons’ movements from the get-go.

What was this?

It felt like he was fighting a creature meant to kill Dragons like them.

If only he could revert into his Dragon form, Vulcan was confident of winning the battle against this seven-headed monster.

“Give up,” said the third head. “Although we have no plans of killing you, you’ll die at this rate if you continue resisting us.”

The Scylla knew that it had won the battle the moment the Dragons came here while under their polymorph spell. It must have not encountered anyone or anything that could threaten its life like this before.

How conceited, the Scylla thought.

Vulcan roared, “Give up? You damn coward! If you have even the slightest bit of honor, allow me to revert into my Dragon form!”

The Scylla opened its wings wide in mockery.

The first head cackled, “How amusing! Who told you to come here in your human form? Fool!”

The fifth and sixth head laughed. The third head turned silent, while the rest of the heads glared at Vulcan.

The Scylla did not feel an ounce of pity for these creatures.

When it was younger, the Scylla had seen the Dragon Devourer slaughter these Dragons without even batting an eye. Compared to what the Scylla was doing now, its Master was far more ruthless. The Dragon Devourer, although capable of the same spells, seldomly resorted to these petty tricks. With his monstrous strength and nearly bottomless mana reserves, he simply cut the Dragon’s bodies using his glaive.

The Scylla believed that it was already being benevolent enough, as it did not immediately kill these lizards.

As for being cowardly – it did not matter.

The Scylla believed that God Evander’s orders preceded everything. Even if it would tarnish its honor, the Scylla would willingly do even the dirtiest works for him.

“It’s a pity,” said the third head. “Had the two of you come here in your Dragon form, it would have been a tough battle.”

The third head said those words with sincerity. The Scylla might have even lost the battle, since they couldn’t possibly go all out while protecting this territory. Moreover, there were two Dragons as its opponent.

Fortunately, the lessons taught to them by their Master – the Dragon Devourer – proved useful in this battle.

Over a hundred compressed orbs of mana manifested themselves around Vulcan again. After rapidly spinning around, they started hitting the Fire Dragon, one after another. Even after Vulcan’s armor had been destroyed, the Scylla did not stop. Even after Vulcan’s flesh had been torn off, the Scylla did not falter. True to his previous words, the Scylla did not stop until the leader of the Fire Dragons became a crippled mess. It continued beating the leader of the Fire Dragons to a pulp, until he was half-dead.

***

[Kingdom of Elves]

The smile on King Melandrach’s face hadn’t slipped away for the past several months. He’d never felt this fulfilled before. As a monarch, he was proud to have solved their race’s problem that had been occurring for generations.

Who would have known that coming across that seven-headed monster would result in that fruitful encounter?

They were truly blessed to have met Evander Alaester.

“Commander Khuumal,” said King Melandrach. “I believe a celebration is in order. Congratulations.”

They were currently in the Royal Palace – the largest Elven Oak in the entire Kingdom. Gathered in the grand hall were the various officials of the kingdom.

Commander Khuumal, who sat to the right of the King, cleared his throat from embarrassment. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

It was rare to see this side of the Commander. King Melandrach, along with several officials, smiled.

“I wonder what the gender would be?” said King Melandrach. “If it’s a boy, I’m certain that he’ll become a warrior as astounding as the Commander in the future.”

After the deal with Evander Alaester, their race gained access to thousands of vials of bloodstone water. A miracle drug that significantly increased their race’s fertility rate. Medicine that solved their race’s long-standing problem.

For the past several months, hundreds of elven families started seeing the benefits of their alliance with that human. Hundreds of elves became pregnant, and everyone couldn’t help but be excited upon realizing that they’d finally found a way to fix their Kingdom’s declining birth rate.

“It seems that children playing on the streets will become a common sight in the coming years, Your Majesty,” said one of the officials.

King Melandrach nodded happily. “Indeed. I really have to thank Lord Evander for his help this time.”

Almost everyone in the room were grateful for what Evander Alaester had done for their Kingdom. Not only did he grant them access to thousands of vials of bloodstone water. He also erected a pinnacle-grade barrier to protect their Kingdom. As long as the adjacent nations do not fall in the war with the demons that was to come, the bright future of the Elven Kingdom was pretty much set in stone.

Still, there were exceptions to this. There were still elves who held deep resentment to Evander Alaester. The Vice Commander, in particular, still wished to exact vengeance on the seven-headed monster.

One of the warriors guarding the throne room said, “Your Majesty, the merchants have arrived.”

“Just in time,” said the King. “Let them in.”

“Yes!”

The large wooden door opened, and three humans entered the grand hall. Although they were called merchants, in reality, these were loyal subordinates of Big Mona who’d underwent the Oath of Silence. They were the ones who’d been assigned to oversee Blackstone Town’s trade with the elves.

“It’s been a while, Sir Edmund,” said King Melandrach respectfully to the leader of the group. Although they were of lower status than him, the Elven King couldn’t afford to show discourtesy to them. In a sense, these people represented not only Big Mona, but also Evander Alaester.

“It’s an honor to be in your presence, King Melandrach,” said Edmund. He was a muscular man with receding hair. A man in his late fifties.  Rather than a merchant, he looked more like a bandit.

“Please, there’s no need for such courtesies,” said King Melandrach. “I presume you came here for the materials we’ve promised you a month and a half ago?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Edmund. “We’ve come here to inspect the quality of the black arrowheads and the fabric produced by the carnivorous worms.”

The black arrowheads and the fabrics were the most in-demand among the elven products sold to the humans. A thousand arrowheads or fifty yards of fabric could be exchanged for a vial of bloodstone water. Additionally, the humans also paid them in silvers and gold.

It was a good start for the trade between the two nations.

“I’m confident that the quality of our products wouldn’t disappoint Sir Edmund,” said King Melandrach. “Otto.”

A young elf replied, “Your Majesty!”

“Guide the honored guests to the storage room.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“We’ve already prepared all the materials we’ve promised over a month ago,” said King Melandrach. “Otto is the official tasked to oversee this one. Please follow him. He shall be your guide.”

Edmund calmly gazed at the young elf who would serve as their guide. After coming here several times before, he’d become somewhat used to the Elven Kingdom. He knew that although the elf looked youthful, he was probably over a hundred years older than him.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” said Edmund. Despite his scruffy and rowdy appearance, he knew his manners very well.

After bowing, Edmund’s group left the grand hall.

“Who would have known that getting our hands on bloodstone water is this easy,” mumbled King Melandrach.

Bloodstone water would normally sell for much more. A thousand black arrows or fifty yards of fabric produced by the carnivorous words in exchange for a vial were already dirty cheap as a price. They couldn’t possibly ask for a better deal. Of course, King Melandrach had no intention of telling Evander Alaester this.

As he was lost in his thoughts, a warrior suddenly barged into the grand hall. The warrior was clearly terrified, his face pallid.

“Your Majesty!” said the warrior.

King Melandrach frowned. For a warrior to barged here unannounced, it must have been an urgent matter. The Elven King started getting an ominous feeling.

“What is it?” said King Melandrach.

“T-The,” huffed the warrior. “The seven-headed monster! The Scylla!”

Everyone in the grand hall stiffened upon the mention of the creature. They could all still vividly remember the time when that monster single-handedly destroyed the Western Garrison and destroyed a portion of their kingdom in a single day.

The warrior said in a trembling voice, “It came back! And it’s demanding that we alter the barrier and let it inside our kingdom!”

King Melandrach stood up from his seat. A bead of sweat fell down his forehead. “Alter the barrier? What does it want?”

“I-I’m not certain, Your Majesty,” said the warrior. “But according to what I’ve heard, it seems that it wished to borrow the authority of the Royal Family to operate the barrier protecting the Kingdom.”

Absurd.

Who in their right mind would just hand over the authority to the barrier just like this?

Still, this was the Scylla they were talking about. It must have come here under the orders of Evander Alaester. It must have come here for a valid reason.

After the incident wherein the Scylla went to the Kingdom while carrying Evander Alaester on its back, the seven-headed monster had never once gone back to the Elven Kingdom.

Why did it suddenly visit their kingdom now, of all times?

And why did it ask for the authority to control the pinnacle-grade barrier?

“I will meet with the Scylla,” said King Melandrach. “Commander Khuumal, bring the elite warriors with you. All of you shall accompany me.”

Commander Khuumal placed a hand on his chest. He said resolutely, “Yes! We will make sure to protect you, even if means death, Your Majesty!”

With the elite warriors escorting him, King Melandrach left the Royal Palace. He stepped outside the barrier enclosing their kingdom and met the seven-headed monster.

“You sure took your time, elf,” said the first head. The Scylla was sitting on the ground, clearly bored.

“I came here as soon as I heard of your arrival, Lord Blackie,” said King Melandrach.

The Elven King made sure to address the seven-headed monster with honorifics. He knew very well of its temperament.

The sixth head snorted, “We’ve been waiting for almost an hour. Do you think we have all day to spare, elf?”

The third head hissed, “Enough. As the loyal servant of God Evander, we shouldn’t sully our image like this. Learn to show some respect to the Elven King.”

The other heads were clearly displeased upon hearing this, but decided not to utter another word.

The third head said, “I hope you don’t take their words into heart, King of Elves.”

King Melandrach awkwardly laughed. Even if this seven-headed monster disrespected him in front of his men, even if it started cussing him, what could he do? This was a creature that could easily destroy their kingdom if it wished to.

“Of course,” said King Melandrach. “So, what did Lord Blackie come here for?”

“You must have already heard it from your men,” said the third head. “We wish to temporarily borrow the authority over the barrier of this kingdom, King of Elves.”

King Melandrach did his best not to stutter as he asked, “Can… Can I know the reason for this, Lord Blackie?”

King Melandrach had a bad feeling about this.

Using wind magic, two figures started floating from the Scylla’s back. Their bodies were bruised and battered. Blood dripped down their skin. There were even bones protruding out of their flesh.

“H-Humans?” King Melandrach’s face drained of all color upon seeing the two figures.

“Dragons,” corrected the third head.

Everyone turned dead silent upon hearing this.

Dragons?

Those mythical creatures that was said to be capable of destroying nations on their own?

“D-Dragons?” said King Melandrach. His composure finally broke down upon hearing this. He wondered if what he heard was correct. “W-What do you mean, L-Lord Blackie?”

The first head angrily hissed, “This elf sure is stupid! They’re Dragons under the polymorph spell! Use your mind, you fucking elf! You damn piece of shit! If you continue—”

The first head stopped midway its speech upon seeing the third head glaring at it. The first head mumbled, “Do what you want.”

The third head said to King Melandrach, “It’s just as you’ve heard, King of Elves. They’re Dragons. These foolish creatures dared lay their eyes on the territory of our God. As such, we had no choice but to punish them. The protection of the territory has been entrusted to us by God Evander, after all. There are no in-betweens.”

Surreal words had just come out of the Scylla’s mouth.

Oh God Gaia.

The Scylla had just beaten two Dragons in a fight?

They knew that the Scylla serving Evander Alaester was strong – but not this strong.

“Dragons have very high regenerative capabilities,” said the Scylla. “These two would wake up soon. We need the barrier to contain them before the interrogation.”

After pondering for quite some time, the Scylla came up with this idea. It couldn’t risk the safety of Blackstone Town, no matter what. Thus, it decided to come here to the Elven Kingdom.

“In order to shackle these fools,” said the third head. “Lend us the barrier for a bit, Elven King.”