Chapter 215: The Dragon King (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 215: The Dragon King (2)
“Huh? You hadn’t released it? I thought you did when I told you to state your objections.”
At the Lord’s question, Cloud’s eyes widened slightly as if he hadn’t realized. From that reaction, the dragons understood that Cloud had shaken off the binding power of the Dragon Language long ago.
He didn’t even feel it, so he had no idea whether it was active or not.
All the dragons, except for the Lord, were left dumbfounded.
The truth is, while the Dragon Language might seem omnipotent at first glance, it’s not.
The Dragon Language is heavily influenced by a living being’s ‘stature.’
If the target’s stature is superior or equal to the caster’s, the Dragon Language has no effect.
Even if their stature is lower, if the difference is minuscule, the target can resist. And if they possess a holy relic, the divine power of Iries contained within it can even dissipate the power of the Dragon Language.
However, if the target’s stature is vastly inferior to the caster’s, there is no more certain means of control than the Dragon Language.
Such is the case between dragons and humans.
Assuming both are ordinary individuals, a human’s stature is remarkably lower than a dragon’s.
So much so that the comparison itself is laughable.
Of course, there are rare exceptions.
If the human is a hero, and a particularly outstanding one at that, the hero’s stature can sometimes surpass a dragon’s.
Most of the legendary life-and-death struggles between dragons and heroes were such cases.
But what had just happened was on a completely different level.
Because the caster of the Dragon Language was none other than the Dragon Lord.
If Cloud had broken the Dragon Language of an ordinary dragon, they could have dismissed it, thinking he was simply an exceptional hero.
If he had broken the Dragon Language of a thousand-year-old ancient dragon, it would be hard to believe, but they could somehow rationalize it as a monster having emerged from the human race this time.
But the Dragon Lord was different.
He was an existence considered the untouchable pinnacle, even among dragons.
The dragons’ idol and leader.
A human unaffected by his Dragon Language?
It couldn’t exist. It shouldn’t exist.
Even if a hero was the pinnacle of humanity in terms of martial prowess, in the end, he was still human.
If it were the leader of the demons or the elves… or even the vampires, perhaps they could understand. But the leader of the humans was something they could not accept.
Yet, their denial didn’t make the freely moving Cloud disappear from before their eyes.
Faced with this bizarre situation where they had to accept what they desperately wanted to deny, the dragons felt a sense of cognitive dissonance.
Could it be that the Lord accidentally released the Dragon Language?
They tried to grasp at straws, but one look at the Lord’s expression, which was souring by the second, made them give up.
The dragons now stared at Cloud as if he were something incomprehensible, something that shouldn’t exist in this world.
Though not to the same extent, the Lord felt much the same.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
This man, who was taunting him with a frown, was, by all accounts, human. There was no possibility of him being another species in polymorph form; he didn't have the slightest trace of residual magic unique to polymorphing.
Even if he were polymorphed, it wouldn’t explain anything.
The only beings on the continent who could remain unaffected by his Dragon Language were the Demon King, the Fairy King, and the Blood King. The three of them.
And those three should each be faithfully fulfilling their own roles.
…Don’t tell me Mother has found a new hobby?
A plot twist, like a hero who turns out to be the Demon King?
After a moment of thought, the Dragon Lord shook his head.
If it were something on that scale, he would have been notified in advance. If something went wrong and things got twisted, it could lead to a catastrophe that would turn the entire continent upside down.
No, knowing Mother, she might just do it. She’s the type who enjoys unexpected situations born from variables.
Ugh…
Letting out a short groan, the Dragon Lord decided to put the situation on hold for now.
The other dragons might be displeased, but what could they do about it?
If he said so, they had to obey.
Just as he did for his Mother.
With a sigh, the Lord released the Dragon Language.
“Hah…!”
The women gasped for air, a testament to how suffocating it had been.
Having regained their freedom of movement, they didn’t bother to open their mouths to express their displeasure at the dragons’ rudeness.
Though they couldn’t quite grasp the situation due to the strange turn of events, they had clearly realized that this dragon, in the guise of a blond young man, was an existence they could not dare to oppose.
The Lord paid them no mind and immediately dispersed his magic.
A dense wave of mana enveloped Cloud’s party.
Just like when they were summoned here, a magic circle was rapidly inscribed on the floor, emitting a bright light.
But this time, they weren’t transported to another location.
Because Cloud had slammed the tip of his scabbard into the magic circle, shattering the spell.
Among the party, the mages—Eri, Leslie, and Hailey—were utterly astonished, but for Cloud, it wasn’t a particularly difficult feat.
Intricate magic spells were inherently fragile; if even one thing went wrong, they would collapse. He had simply used that fact to slightly disrupt the magic within the circle with his own mana.
Truthfully, it was a feat Cloud himself wasn’t sure was possible in this possessed body, but with the magic circle presented right in front of him like this, it wasn’t impossible.
Hoo… With a sigh, Cloud glared coldly at the Dragon Lord and spoke in a sharp voice.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“…You’re not one of them.”
“‘Them’? Who’s ‘them’? Stop spouting nonsense I can’t understand and answer my question. What was the reason for dragging me here against my will and spewing bullshit about me being a sinner, about imprisonment and hard labor? Did I look like some kind of idiot who would just take all that?”
“H-How rude! Show respect to the Lord, human—!”
“Hey.”
The judge, having finally regained his senses, began to scold him, but all he got in return was Cloud’s icy glare.
“I’m talking to your Lord right now. Who the hell are you to butt in?”
The judge’s body froze at the chilling voice.
A thick, clay-like sensation enveloped his chest, making it hard to breathe, as if his throat was clogged.
Feeling fear for the first time since being born a dragon, the judge’s eyes trembled in utter confusion.
“You should already know the reason you were brought here.”
The trembling only stopped when Cloud’s gaze left him at the Lord’s reply.
“The crime of killing a dragon? If that’s really the reason, why didn’t you summon me when I killed that ancient dragon, Terseus? Wasn’t he far more important than some young dragon named Kraxus?”
“We do not consider a pathetic fool who fell for a succubus as one of our kin.”
“Is that so? Fine, let’s say that’s that. But I still don’t get it. No, it’s not that I don’t get it, I’m just pissed off. Why should I be treated like a criminal by you lot, and why do I have to put up with this childish mockery of a trial?”
“Y-You dare… Ugh…!”
The judge, who was about to say something, flinched again when Cloud glared at him. The Dragon Lord glanced at him with a pathetic look before continuing with a sigh.
“I admit the trial was amateurish. However, it is a fact that a so-called hero killed an innocent dragon. Are you going to claim that is not a crime?”
“Of course. A hero killing a monster isn’t a crime, is it?”
“What?”
The Dragon Lord’s expression hardened.
The other dragons didn’t step forward, having seen what happened before, but they were enraged by Cloud’s statement, which treated them like lowly monsters.
As the ominous atmosphere from the trial returned, Cloud scanned the dragons and said, “Come to think of it, there are a lot of monsters here, too.”
Finally, the Lord’s anger reached its breaking point.
[YOUR ARROGANCE PIERCES THE HEAVENS!!!]
He released his polymorph.
A colossal dragon blotted out the sky.
A single flap of its seven pairs of wings created a wind strong enough to blow away any ordinary beast, and each strand of the long whiskers on its snout held more mana than a respectable mage.
In particular, the golden scales covering its entire body were nothing short of sacred.
A Gold Dragon.
The king and master of dragons roared at the prey that had dared to treat him as a target.
[YOU, INSIGNIFICANT HUMAN. NO MATTER HOW SPECIAL YOU MAY BE, YOU ARE BUT A MERE MORTAL. BY WHAT RIGHT DO YOU MOCK ME, ONE WHO DEBATES IMMORTALITY?!]
The Dragon Lord’s roar, imbued with his will, swept through the surrounding area.
Cloud’s party trembled uncontrollably. The relatively faint-hearted Katarina’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.
The ancient dragons shuddered with a fear of their Lord that was etched into their very genes, while the orcs and beasts living nearby were thrown into a panic.
In this moment, distinctions like predator and prey were meaningless to them.
The predator was the Lord, and the prey was everything else.
“Mock you…? Did my words sound like a joke to you?”
…That should have been the case, but the hero standing before the Lord looked strangely composed.
In reality, Cloud had only found the Lord’s roar to be loud; he felt no particular emotion from it.
Cloud tapped the pommel of his sword with his finger, contemplating.
Should I kill him?
Killing the Dragon Lord itself wasn’t a problem. He had no bond with the creature. Even if he killed him, it would feel no different from killing any other monster.
But revealing the cards I’ve kept hidden all this time leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Naturally, he couldn’t defeat the Dragon Lord with just this body alone.
This thing wasn’t designed to be killed in the first place.
So, if he really wanted to kill him, he would have to play the trump cards he had kept hidden until now.
His journey was slowly reaching its final stages, so it wouldn’t be a huge issue to reveal them, but he preferred to do so at the planned time if possible.
Just then, Cloud felt a massive amount of dense mana pouring out from the Lord.
Dozens of magic circles were instantly inscribed behind the Lord’s back.
Each one was a grand spell of undeniable power.
…So this wasn’t a problem for me to deliberate on, huh?
With a hollow laugh, he spoke to the Lord.
“You were talking about a sentence of hard labor earlier? Well, you, you fucker, are sentenced to be Leah’s battery. The term is indefinite. No negotiations.”
[STOP SPOUTING NONSENSE!!]
At first, the Dragon Lord had been curious about Cloud’s true identity, but now that he had lost his temper, he couldn’t care less about such things.
He was determined to kill this arrogant mortal who had dared to disrespect him, no matter what it took.
He won’t be an easy opponent. I’ll go all out from the start.
Vwooom.
The magic circles began to glow, just as the spells were about to pour forth.
—Kaisullan. Stop.
A message from his Mother, Iries, descended.