Dwarves: Dragon's Ruin -1-
The ancient capital of the dwarves, once one of the greatest cities in Mundus, Karmataji was a place of glory where countless dwarves resided and thrived in prosperity. Thanks to the gems and precious metals mined by dwarves from the resource-rich southern reaches of the Arakasia Mountains, it ranked among the wealthiest cities in the world's history.
The ancestors of the dwarves, the Dwarven, were mortal beings evolved from the nephilim—semi-divine creations under Volcanus—who had degenerated and changed. Their appearance differed so vastly from modern dwarves that one might question if they were the same race. But what set them apart even more was their temperament: unlike the conservative, stubborn dwarves of today, the Dwarven were progressive and open-minded.
However, a certain "incident" in the southern desert accelerated the dwarves' degeneration, leading to the loss and forgetting of much of their ancient technology. Even so, during the era when the southern kingdom still existed, the dwarves retained strong Dwarven influences compared to their modern counterparts, maintaining a degree of openness. As if to prove this trait—
Wooong!!
This Karmataji appeared futuristic even by modern standards. It was a legacy of the Dwarven, but also influenced by the dwarves of that time. The city brimmed with technological marvels unimaginable to other races: personal firearms with rapid fire, horseless carriages, massive iron horses racing underground, swift flying machines soaring through the skies. Portable communication devices, projectiles capable of reaching space, enormous sky ships defying gravity, teleportation devices, thinking machines, steel humanoids replacing labor—and more. Among all nations in the world's history, it was the only one to possess over-technology surpassing the modern era.
Of course, most were relics from the Dwarven era. Even when the Obsidian Princess was alive, the dwarves barely understood their principles, merely using and maintaining them with great difficulty. Yet these wonders had left traces enduring to the present day in this vast city. The dwarves flourished under such overwhelming technology.
But that was ancient history.
"Squeak!!"
"Screech!!"
Now, Karmataji sustained a grotesque, twisted prosperity in place of the dwarves' glorious and mighty one. The great technological legacies from the Dwarven era, left unmanaged, had long since broken down or been destroyed, reduced to mere confusing heaps of metal. The dwarven buildings, beautiful yet efficient and pristine, had crumbled into rags, now serving as nests for their horrific new masters.
"Screech!!"
"Squeak!!"
Replacing the vanished dwarves were literal bipedal rats. Matted fur, bloodshot red eyes, razor-sharp incisors, and cracked claws. Emaciated frames draped in filthy rags—utterly repulsive creatures.
"Screech!!"
"Screeech!!"
Ratmen, monsters once as common as goblins in ancient times but vanished from the surface world at some point. Now, they numbered in the millions. Individually, they were the weakest of monsters, on par with goblins, but this was an blatantly abnormal horde. They had seized this masterless city, corrupting and destroying its great legacies, reshaping it to suit themselves. As a result, the city retained only faint remnants of its past glory—almost entirely transformed.
Save for one place. At the heart of this once-planned city stood a massive, majestic structure—ornate unlike the clean, dwarven-style buildings around it. The dwarven royal palace, Kajandrack.
Unlike the rest of the city, it appeared maintained by someone, preserving its original grandeur.
Beneath this Kajandrack lay a vast underground vault. Its entrance featured a massive door opposite another enormous, vault-like barrier of unyielding strength.
Creak...
This had been a gigantic storehouse for the ancient dwarven royal family's treasures, proving the dwarven kingdom's legendary wealth. Piles of precious metals and gems formed literal mountains—not metaphorically, but mountains in size and scale. Mostly gold, interspersed with other metals, jewels, magic artifacts, and treasures. It was no exaggeration to call it a mountain of gold.
◈ Primarily gold, with embedded jewels, artifacts, and treasures
◈ Scale: Actual mountain-sized hoard
"Squeak!! G-Great D-Dragon! The army is r-ready, y-yes! A-All p-prepared!! J-Just give the order, and w-we can march immediately!!"
A ratman who had opened the massive entrance door knelt before the golden mountain. Unlike the filthy, hideous ones outside, this one had glossy fur, fine clothes, and towered at three meters—the ratman demon lord and leader of the ratmen, the Vermin King. He spoke in deferential tones.
Then—
Rumble!!
Clang!!
The massive golden mountain trembled, coins cascading like a tsunami. From its heart, something enormous began to rise.
Boom!!
A portion of the rising golden mound exploded outward, ejecting something gigantic.
Thud!!!
It was a massive, thick arm covered in sturdy red scales. As it slammed down on the gold, using it as leverage, the colossal being inside burst through the mountain.
Kabooooom!!!
Clatter!!
Coins and treasures scattered everywhere as the entity piercing the golden mountain revealed itself: a gigantic red-scaled dragon. Its body, tail to tip, spanned at least 300 meters, rippling with muscle, flames flickering in its maw.
"At last..."
Rumble!!
Its mere words shook the mountain with infused power, asserting its presence.
"Order the entire army to prepare to advance."
"G-Great D-Dragon, this lowly rat sh-shall obey m-most obediently!"
Replying in the characteristic choking stutter of ratman demons, the Vermin King bolted outside.
"Then I should prepare as well."
Groooowl!
Clang!!
Fully rising from the golden mountain, shaking off clinging coins from its scales—this enormous red dragon was one of the world's few remaining ancient dragons, Parnil.
"Finally... I can slaughter those foolish dwarves and escape this boring prison."
The reason he was confined underground was simple: he had annihilated the dwarven kingdom on the Demon King's orders.
When the Demon King revived for the third time, it viewed the dwarves and Volcanus's Heart as a grave threat. Thus, it dispatched Parnil—the strongest in its army at the time—along with legions of monsters to destroy the dwarven kingdom.
Attacking from the south rather than the Demon King's northern base caught them off guard. The battle ended in victory for the Demon King's forces, successfully driving the dwarves from this capital housing Volcanus's Heart and the southern mountains.
'But victory brought one massive problem...'
Beyond the vault door opposite this chamber lay Volcanus's Heart, with no way to access it. Breaching the vault, forged with ultimate ancient Dwarven tech, was exceedingly difficult.
Yet Volcanus's Heart actively blocked entry. The Demon King, realizing this, bound Parnil with powerful constraints to guard it, preventing others from claiming it. He was little more than a watchdog.
As a result, Parnil—once the Demon King's mightiest, dubbed the "Wings of Calamity" by the forces of good—was forgotten by allies and enemies alike, his name unspoken.
The battle with the dwarves had been fierce; most monster legions perished, leaving only a handful of the numerous ratmen. Like Parnil, they were forcibly bound to guard Karmataji.
But this watchdog life seemed to be ending.
'The order has finally come!!'
Resentment toward the Demon King had built over years of neglect, but with no alternative and the Demon King stronger, he'd swallowed his rage. Now, a chance to escape this fate.
After ages of silence, the Demon King ordered an assault on the dwarves resettled in the north. Unable to move due to his duty, Parnil would use the vastly multiplied ratmen to strike their kingdom from the rear.
'Once I deal with those dwarves and seal the underground entrances, I won't need to guard this place anymore.'
'This time, not even that worm can stop me!!'
The "worm" was the disaster-class beast known as the Arakasia Great Death Worm—a divine beast formed from the corpses of slain dwarves, animated by Volcanus's wrathful remnant will.
Normal Death Worms inhabited the southern great desert: 400 meters long, 40 meters thick. Impressive, but the Arakasia Great Death Worm was freakishly larger.
And the cause was this very overkill strength.
'Pointlessly powerful...'
Its power rivaled Parnil's, one of the top ancient dragons—and underground, the worm held a slight edge. Thus, it repeatedly assaulted Karmataji, slaughtering ratmen, ambushing any who ventured out, or harassing Parnil periodically.
But no more. The worm, which prowled nearby, vanished four days ago—its presence gone. The faint aura of the earth god across the mountains had also faded. Undoubtedly dead, though the cause was unknown.
Suspicious, but bound by the Demon King's constraints, Parnil couldn't investigate. Nor did he trust the ratmen for it.
'The mountains are too vast anyway...'
He couldn't miss this golden opportunity. The moment the worm's aura vanished, he ordered the ratmen to prepare. They obeyed faithfully.
At first repulsive sewer rats, but after eons together, he'd grown somewhat fond of the well-fed ratman demons. Ordinary ratmen remained filthy vermin in his eyes.
Time for a morale-boosting send-off ceremony.
Thud thud thud!!
Finishing his thoughts, Parnil exited the vault, strolling through Kajandrack's interior. Built for smaller Dwarven and dwarves, it was once cramped, but centuries of modifications made it comfortable.
He made one final stop before departing.
Creeeak!!
Opening massive doors to a grand chamber, his eyes fell upon:
"Oh, Sollenira... beautiful and noble Sollenira... still as stunning as ever..."
A gigantic dragon matching his size. Differences: golden scales instead of red, missing one eye, and slenderer lines.
"..."
Her body was rigidly fixed, utterly lifeless.
"If only you had the other eye too... Why did you resist so fiercely, beautiful Sollenira? You could have been my bride..."
Tsk. Parnil clicked his tongue.
Of course Sollenira, the golden dragon before him, didn't stir. She was long dead.
During the war with the ancient dwarven kingdom, she was the ancient dragon dispatched by the goddess to aid the dwarves—a champion of good.
Though enemies, her exquisite beauty captivated Parnil; he proposed on sight. She rejected him in disgust. Enraged, they clashed. Young and inexperienced, she lost an eye and perished despite fierce resistance.
Regretting the waste of such beauty, he preserved her corpse here with demonic energy, taxidermied unrotting.
"Hmm... Well, I'm off. Guard the house well."
He visited occasionally to admire her or before major events. Purely aesthetic—no necrophilic tastes.
After a lingering gaze—
Thud thud thud!!
Parnil lumbered to the palace's modified grand balcony.
"Squeak!!"
"Squeak squeak!!"
"Squeak squeak squeak!!"
Below, on a vast plain cleared from demolished city structures, a million-strong ratmen horde gathered, gazing at Parnil with fanatic zeal.
"D-Dragon!!"
"G-Great!!"
"G-Great D-Dragon! G-Give the order, the command!!"
The demon lords and Vermin King at the forefront implored him.
"Very well... Then now..."
As Parnil prepared to issue the march order—
Rumble rumble rumble!!!!
"Hm?"
The entire city shook like an earthquake—
Kaboooooom!!!!
One section of the underground city's ceiling exploded, hurling dirt and dust into a massive cloud.
"What!? What in the world is happening!?"